How a cricket match started in 1845 and ended 112 years later

2025 will mark 180 years since the much spoken-of game between Bures and Great Bentley began. Both sides locked horns in 1845, and according to the stories, Bentley batters batted all day in 1845 and retired without offering the Bures batters a chance to come out to bat. 

It is interesting to note that the game between both sides was being played for a barrel of beer. Furthermore, the Bures batters were offered the opportunity to bat in one hundred years time to complete the match.

The game was then continued in June 1957; it was after so many years that Bures managed to register a win by two wickets. Hailing from Halstead, Dennis Walter, who owns Hume's bakery, was one of the batters back in 1957.

"At the time, someone unearthed some documents about a cricket match between Bures and Great Bentley in 1845. In the match, Great Bentley scored over 300 runs but Bures never got a chance to have their innings. The documents read that Bures could have their innings in 100 years time. Even after all these years I still find it amazing that someone dug the team's history up,” Walter was quoted as saying by the Daily Gazette Standard. 

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The latter half of the game, played in 1957, saw Great Bentley players arrive on horse and cart, with every attendee and player dressed in 17th-century clothing. As Bures won the clash, Dennis Walter put in an exceptional performance with the bat, scoring more than 300 runs during the clash. 

"Even when we first moved to Halstead and opened the business, I still played cricket. I'd go back to Bures and play, and Anne would make the teas. We're both so grateful to have been a part of that special day. I feel like we're part of history and it's a fond memory,” Walter concluded.