THE INAUGURAL NURDLING ASHES

Monday, June 15 | Midday at Cliff Bank, Daymer Bay

Following on from our recent Nurdling announcements, a dramatic international challenge has been thrown down. My brother is flying all the way from Australia to take part on Monday, June 15th, and he has demanded to have something tangible to bring back to Sydney should he win with an Australian-backed side.

Given the massive Cornish connection to Australian cricket history, Michael Gover and I thought it would be highly appropriate to officially play for The Ashes!

🏏 An Anglo-Australian Showdown

Because "nurdling" is famously the Australian cricket term for gently deflecting a ball into a vacant area for a sneaky run, we will officially be competing for the Inaugural Nurdling Ashes.

Following the matches, Michael Gover will be burning a copy of the official scorecard and sealing the soot inside a tiny urn.

The Big Question: Will the prestigious Nurdling Ashes stay safely on Cornish soil, or will my brother be smuggling them past customs back to Sydney after successfully sledging us all with behind-the-bowler's-arm banter? Cornish pride is entirely on the line. (Better than the football World Cup? We think so!)

📜 The History: W.G. Grace & "The Little Cornwall"

There is a historical irony to this matchup. Back in the 1870s, thousands of Cornish miners emigrated to the copper mines of South Australia—an area still proudly known as "The Little Cornwall." This directly tied into the exodus of miners from the Polzeath area around the same time our local mines closed for good.

As recounted in Robert Meller’s fantastic Bedrock Books of Cornwall (Book 1, Page 91), the legendary English cricketer W.G. Grace took his All-England XI out there in March 1874 to play these very miners and their descendants on the Yorke's Peninsula.

It was a beautifully lopsided, chaotic affair:

• The Pitch: An unconventional racetrack wicket in Kadina "covered with small stones" and with "scarcely a blade of grass to be seen."

• The Odds: Grace’s elite team of 11 took on a local team of 22 Cornish miners.

• The Result: Grace’s team triumphed, but the great W.G. Grace himself was thoroughly humbled in the first innings—scoring just 5 runs before being caught by Perryman off a ball bowled by a miner named Arthur!

More than 150 years after those Cornish mining emigrants took on England’s best in the dusty Australian heat, the Aussies are coming back to the home of North Cornwall mining to challenge us at our own game of Nurdling.

📅 Event Details & How to Join

If you want to watch the drama unfold, join a team, or just lend your voice to the crowd, come along!

• When: Monday, June 15th at Midday (Timed perfectly to catch the low tide on our return from the morning Jesus Well Pilgrimage).

• Where: Cliff Bank, Daymer Bay.

• Cost: Completely Free. Just bring your team spirit (and perhaps some Anglo-Aus sledging).

⚠️ Please Note: We operate on a strict zero-insurance, "enter at your own risk" policy. A flying Cornish nurdle is a heavy piece of rock with a mind of its own!