Joe Hudson reports from North Stainley with its quirky Nidderdale backdrop for the game with Division 3 opponents Studley Royal. *** North Stainley’s ground is remarkable. It doesn’t quite look real somehow, almost like a Hollywood movie set where the producers don’t quite understand the notion of village cricket, or one of those Chinese theme […]
Club cricket
North Leeds’ title push still on despite Pudsey setback
For those that haven’t been to Pudsey, wandering in past the Sir Leonard Hutton Memorial Gates you immediately see the modern extension to the pavilion, which contains a café/bar and patio area with tables outside. To your left is the large playing area with a superbly kept grass surface that extends down the slight incline […]
Wakefield Thornes lift K3 Dental Cup at Castleford
The K3 Dental Cup Final promised a bundle of opportunities from Premier League cricket involving two South Yorkshire rivals to an assured host in last year’s winners, Castleford. Back on trains more often this season, I’ve had my ‘adventures’ but the Leeds to Knottingley service from platform 17b was quiet, on time and I was […]
Record-breaking Greaves leads Wickersley Vixens to victory
Tom Pollard reflects from a trip to Wickersley Old Village as he caught an August Division 1 (hardball) match in the South Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League. *** Continuing my journey across some of the fantastic grassroots cricket grounds that South Yorkshire has to offer, I set my sights on the village of Wickersley […]
Yorkshire W&GCL: Collegiate collect the points at Saxton
The end is in sight…or should that be ‘the end is nigh’ in honour of those A-board wearing individuals at the turn of the 1900’s? As we reached the fourth Sunday in August, the number of fixtures remaining in many of the women and girls’ leagues could be counted on the fingers of one hand. […]
NYSD: The tortoise and the hare at Skelton Castle
Bank Holiday Monday’s match at Skelton Castle Cricket Club brought to my mind the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare: slow and steady wins the race. That was the chief takeaway from the splendidly named Old Dog Kennels ground, where nine-player Preston-on-Tees managed to defeat, by seven wickets, Skelton Castle, their North Yorkshire & […]
Team selection at cricket clubs: The ultimate Rubik’s Cube
Cricket team selection has been on my radar to write about for ages. So many angles. It can be pretty controversial and I’ve worn the various hats as peripheral cricketer to captain with the nuances and pressures that come with both. If we take it as given that everyone wants to play, how do cricket […]
Oughtibridge win South Yorkshire Alliance Works Midweek League
The 2025 edition of the South Yorkshire Alliance Works Midweek League has been won by Oughtibridge after a tense final against Sheffield Collegiate. It is the third year in a row that these teams have contested the final with Oughtibridge claiming a second win, this time by 11 runs. The 20-team evening competition, across three […]
Conor Harvey & Townville conquer demons to lift Priestley Cup
Townville’s all-rounder Conor Harvey is talking about freeing himself of an albatross. The weight of expectation that comes with the Bradford Premier League side’s near-misses in a variety of trophies over the last decade was shrugged off with the Priestley Cup final win over Pudsey St Lawrence. “We’ve been so close, I mean, six or […]
Helperby winning run ended by league leaders Goldsborough
Last Saturday, I returned to covering the Theakston Nidderdale League when I headed down to Pannal to cover their firsts playing second-placed West Tanfield. Both teams impressed on the day for different reasons. I have been meaning to get to cover Goldsborough this season, preferably at their ground, but with us entering the final few […]