North Leeds Women’s 1st XI captain Jacky Fitzpatrick is reflecting on a landmark 2025 season where her squad won Division 1 of the West Yorkshire Women & Girls League. For good measure, they made the national final of the ECB Women’s T20 Plate competition. As opening questions go, I’m curious if the outfit based on […]
Cricket Interviews
Cricket pitches: Can you water them during a hosepipe ban?
From 11 July 2025, Yorkshire Water imposed hosepipe restrictions – but what does that mean for cricket clubs? The focus is on household water consumption (so no hosepipes or sprinklers in the garden). Here, we explain what cricket clubs can do and also interview South Milford Cricket Club who came up with an innovative solution […]
Nasa Hussain BEM: Bradford Park Avenue to Buckingham Palace
Nasa Hussain, Head Groundsman at Bradford Park Avenue cricket ground, has been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the King’s Birthday Honours List. Announced in The Gazette, the UK’s official record since 1665, the citation read: THE KING has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of the Celebration of His Majesty’s Birthday, to approve […]
Bishopthorpe Cricket Club: Crunch point to Clubmark
Bishopthorpe Cricket Club have an impressive story to tell. The village’s cricket team went from nearly folding to enjoying a stunning comeback with more players, sponsors and volunteers. Like many, the cricket club’s ground, outside York, is not owned by themselves but in this case by the Church of England. Bishopthorpe is where the Archbishop […]
Bradford Park Avenue Ladies aim for league hat-trick
Bradford Park Avenue Ladies (BPAL) 1st XI captain Kirsty Gavillet is on her lunch break and sharing the club’s successes and future plans with me. Their ascent to unbeaten Division 1 champions in the West Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League can make you forget that the club only formed in 2019. Since finishing fourth […]
Moorlands go for third Huddersfield Premiership title in a row
Moorlands Cricket Club first-team captain Eddie Walmsley talks about the possibility of their third league title in a row, pre-season squad news and a sparkling debut for their overseas signing. Not that it’s a given by any means but even the chance of a hat-trick of Premiership wins in the Huddersfield Premier Cricket League is […]
Iggy’s Fund: Remembering a gentle giant and apple crumble
I spotted a LinkedIn post and it gave me pause to smile, think of a friend who is no longer with us, his wonderful family and the legacy he has left behind. It also prompted fond flashbacks of apple crumble but we’ll come to that. Alan Igglesden (above right), known to everyone as Iggy, played […]
Baildon Cricket Club on a one-club ethos and paying players
The premise for this look at Baildon Cricket Club was their promotion to the Premier Division of the Bradford Premier League. In the world of professional football, promotion to the Premier League comes with a chance to win millions and the need to strengthen your squad accordingly. At the top level of club cricket in […]
Softball shenanigans (and trophies) at Scholes
Fran Hamilton of Scholes Cricket Club, shares how women and girls’ cricket began and its subsequent successes. The Scholes women and girls cricket story started in August / September 2022, towards the end of season where the mums were having a drink and decided it would be a good idea to play hardball cricket in […]
Anthony McGrath: Q&As, club cricket and digital scouting
Anthony McGrath, Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s new Men’s Head Coach, is discussing the fact that he’s only just arrived but is already going on tour. It was announced in October that the former Essex Director of Cricket had signed a five-year contract with Yorkshire. His pedigree speaks for itself with the Double of the County […]