Odiham Down is a rural location outside the village of Odiham in Hampshire, and a short distance from Basingstoke. Between 1779 and 1788, it was a cricket venue for several historically important matches, and as the home of the Odiham Cricket Club.
History It was the venue for Hampshire v Surrey on Monday, 14 July 1788. This match was briefly pre-announced a week earlier, but the result is unknown. The stake was 100 guineas.
Other matches on the Down involved Alresford, Berkshire, Hambledon, Hampshire, Maidenhead, and the combined Alresford & Odiham and Alton & Odiham teams. One such match was Alton & Odiham v Farnham in August 1782. Two players called Beldum (sic) played for Farnham. One was George Beldham, and it seems certain that the other (surname only) was Billy Beldham, who was then sixteen years old. Farnham, with the Beldham brothers, played at Odiham Down again in August 1784.
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