August 13 2015.


A new short play called ‘The Last Match’ tells the story of the very last game played on the County Ground at Hove before the Second World War when Sussex and Yorkshire finished their game on Friday the 1st of September 1939 despite the outbreak of war that day. It turned out to be a remarkable day’s cricket, with one of the most spectacular bowling displays in cricketing history.

The play is being performed at Newhaven Fort on Thursday the 20th of August at 4.00pm and 7.00pm and at the Brighton and Hove Jobs.com County Ground on Saturday the 22nd of August at 1.15pm and 6.15pm during Sussex’s LV County Championship match with Yorkshire.

News came through early on that Friday in 1939 that Germany had invaded Poland. But the teams decided to complete their match despite the news and the cancellation of matches elsewhere in the country.

Against the backdrop of children being evacuated, troops mobilised and Parliament recalled for an evening sitting, the game continued and the great Yorkshire and England bowler, Hedley Verity, took an astonishing 7-9, enabling Yorkshire to bowl Sussex out for 33 and score an unlikely victory. It proved to be Verity's last match as he was subsequently killed in action. The drama aims to capture the surreal atmosphere of the day and to explore how people react at moments of crisis, as well as recalling a unique moment in cricket history.
 
It is being performed at Newhaven Fort at 4.00pm and 7.00pm on Thursday the 20th of August in the Romney Hut. Tickets are £7.00 and £4.00 for concessions. Tickets are available at Newhaven Fort or via www.thelastmatch.com 

In Hove the play is being performed during the lunch interval on Saturday the 22nd of August at 1.15pm in the Boundary Rooms at the County Ground and again after the close of play at 6.15pm. Tickets are just £6 and are available in advance via the Sussex cricket website and via www.thelastmatch.com 


There’s more about the play at www.thelastmatch.com where you can also book tickets.