First underground cricket match played 2000 feet below ground level in a mine in England

In a first of its kind, a cricket match was played in an underground tunnel 2,000 ft (600m) below the ground level!

Two village cricket teams from Threlkeld and Caldbeck played a match at Honister Slate Mine, an 11-mile network of underground tunnels inside Fleetwith Pike in Cumbria, England.

Cricketers from village teams Threlkeld and Caldbeck take part in the world’s first underground cricket match inside Honister Slate Mine on December 5, 2013 in Keswick, England

The fixture took part 600m (2,000ft) inside Fleetwith Pike at Englands last working slate mine at Honister in the Lake District.

Flooding had damaged the ground of Threlkeld Cricket Club and the match was played to raise funds for it. A variety of village residents – shopkeepers, farmers, cafe owners – constituted the teams on both sides which played in the floodlit cavern.

Umpire Norman Shuttleworth places slate bales on the stumps ready for village teams Threlkeld and Caldbeck to take part in the world’s first underground cricket match inside Honister Slate Mine

Shopkeepers, farmers, cafe owners constituted the teams on both sides which played in the floodlit cavern

The game is one of many unusual venues the teams have played in to raise money to fix Threlkeld Cricket Club’s flood damaged ground

It was a 6-over a side match, with each bowler getting a maximum of one over to bowl. Batsmen had to retire when they reach 25 runs and there were no boundaries, all runs had to be accumulated by running between the wickets.

Caldbeck emerged the winners in the contest after they chased down a target of 28 runs with 10 balls to spare.

Caldbeck cricket team walk from Honister Slate Mine with their trophy after winning the world’s first underground cricket match

It’s not the first time Threlkeld were playing cricket at an unlikely venue to raise funds for its ground, having played cricket on a frozen wicket on a small mountain and even underwater in River Derwent.