Visiting cricket grounds and sites of famous battles. Would that combo work for you? I gave it a shot last week: Saxton Cricket Club (Foss Evening League, Division Four) and the Battle of Towton (1461); Northallerton Town Cricket Club (North Yorkshire & South Durham Premier League, Collingwood Hundred, Round One)
“It’s a long walk for a duck!” The words of Luddendenfoot opener Harry Denham after his first over dismissal at Upper Hopton Cricket Club’s Sutcliffe Memorial Ground. Playing in a Halifax League Parish Cup second-round tie, Denham had almost scaled the summit of a taxing, 45-step
It is always good to visit a cricket club then learn about encouraging developments. Very much the case when a Thursday found me at Thornton-le-Moor Cricket Club, to watch a game against Ingleby Cross in the tiny Northallerton & District Evening League. With just seven members (the others
The North Yorkshire & South Durham Premier League appears to have more cup competitions than you can shake a stick at. Spectators are spoilt for choice! Always keen to try something new, in this case the Ken Welsh Cup, I had a drive up the A19 to Teesside, an old
A season or two ago, whilst exchanging emails with a very helpful Pontefract & District League secretary, I asked if he could recommend any particularly attractive and/or interesting cricket grounds in his competition. Hundhill Hall Cricket Club’s ground, off Sandygate Lane, in the farming village of East Hardwick,
In common with every other cricket enthusiast, I found April a frustrating month, as rain, rain then a bit more rain dashed my spectating plans. So, the early May arrival of long overdue sunshine and warmth saw me scrambling to find a midweek fixture belatedly to get my 2024 season
Hard up against the southwest corner of Shiregreen Cricket Club’s compact ground are unmissable signs, mounted high on a wall, advertising an adjacent fireworks shop. Unfortunately, at least for Shiregreen, the only sparklers on display, when I made my first visit to the 2024 Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League
Editor's Note: I was looking forward to heading to the Arthington Cricket Festival in 2023, having not been for a few years. Pre-Covid, it was once a ritual of mine as the Festival extends until October. Hard to find cricket outdoors many places at that time of
Dodging this summer’s disappointing, triple-pronged cloud, wind and rain assault, I’ve been squeezing in cricket fixes wherever and whenever I can. Often, it has been a case of finding a game – any day of the week – with sun forecast. Recently, time and again, that has meant heading
Cricket has many unsung heroes, without whom games couldn’t happen. Groundstaff – pitch makers, they like to be called now – are right up there. I made a long overdue first visit to Scarborough Cricket Club’s North Marine Road, to watch the Yorkshire Premier Cricket League North’s T20 Finals
Heading into the second half of 2023, the standings in Yorkshire’s recreational cricket leagues are starting to indicate who the season’s winners and losers might be. Let’s start at the top of the pyramid, with the four ECB Premier League, Premier Divisions. In the Bradford Premier Cricket
Maybe – just maybe – the players, officials and supporters of Saltburn Cricket Club are beginning to wonder if an eighth North Yorkshire & South Durham Premier Cricket League championship triumph is coming their way. Two home wins, at the expense of Great Ayton then Stockton, across the June 10-11 weekend,
In my world, Bank Holidays are synonymous with sporting derby matches. Surely, it’s what the damn things were invented for! From a decent selection of fixtures (and after a careful assessment of the weather forecast for each quarter of the Broad Acres), I opted for a first visit to
In the ‘groundhopping’ game, there’s always one that gets away. Somehow, despite living in York for longer than I’ve lived anywhere else (which, having terribly itchy feet, isn’t saying a great deal), I managed to miss visiting Dunnington Cricket Club when they were playing ECB Premier Division
Watching a cup tie between buoyant teams with 2022 championship trophies on their CVs seemed like an excellent way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. An opportunity to reacquaint myself with the Huddersfield Cricket League was a bonus. So, off I went to north Huddersfield and Birkby Rose Hill Cricket
Stuffed olives, smoked cheese, pork and apple pie, samosas, Cornish-style pasties, raspberry cheesecake, fruit scones and chocolate brownies. Eight reasons why we chose Old Malton for our most recent Saturday cricket fix. I say ‘we’. Once my wife realised Malton & Old Malton Cricket Club’s home game with
