I’m having almost as much success getting my 2023 cricket-watching season off the ground as rocket man Elon Musk attempting to jettison himself into space. Nobody needs reminding what a wet, windy, cold spring it’s been. Away in Kent for Easter, I caught the final, decisive day of a County Championship match between Division One […]
Huddersfield Cricket League: Umpires Warning
Deteriorating player behaviour towards umpires this season has prompted Huddersfield Cricket League (HCL) chairman Trevor Atkinson to issue a stern warning to club captains. The warning is in the unusual form of an open letter, the contents of which are likely to raise eyebrows across recreational cricket, in Yorkshire and beyond. Trevor’s statement follows a […]
Malton & Old Malton: Ready for the top of Yorkshire’s pyramid
Shaun Harland “can’t wait” to captain Malton & Old Malton Cricket Club’s first team this season as they make their ECB Premier League, Premier Division debut. Shaun’s entire cricketing life, from under-nines to the age of 24, has been spent with Malton & Old Malton, who in 2022 secured promotion, as runners-up to champions Stamford […]
Settle Cricket Club: New era in the North West Cricket League, open mind
Settle Cricket Club enter their first season in the new North West Cricket League with what chairman Andrew Davidson describes as an “open mind”. Last autumn, the 16-club Ribblesdale Cricket League – of which, in 1892, Settle were founder members – agreed to merge with the Bolton Cricket League, established in 1930. This year, 24 […]
Thornton Watlass: Village cricket, with quirks included
This article on Thornton Watlass Cricket Club was originally published in 2021 and is well worth a read, whenever you find it. *** As Andrew Gallon reports, Staithes set up a Voneus National Village Cup second round home tie, on May 9, against Scarborough Beckett League rivals Heslerton by winning at Thornton Watlass with 17 balls […]
Filey aim high for Yorkshire Premier League North debut
Captain David Brannan Jnr believes Filey Cricket Club’s first team can make an immediate impact in the Yorkshire Premier League North, their new home. During the 2023 season, having left the Scarborough Beckett Cricket League this winter, Filey will contest Division Two (Holderness), the YPLN’s fourth tier. The opposition comprises the first teams of Hessle, […]
Thirsk: Watching club cricket inside a racecourse
The sports ground ‘collector’ is always on the lookout for something different. Playing inside a racecourse circuit – as do Thirsk Cricket Club – counts as unusual. Not unique, though, in my experience. Two decades ago, I watched Racing Club Warwick in a Southern Football League match at a ground enclosed by the town’s racecourse. […]
Illingworth St Mary’s throw Halifax Cricket League title open
The tidy, scenic Alloe Field View ground, home since 1888 to Illingworth St Mary’s Cricket Club, was described by a first-time visitor as the “crown jewels” of the village. It is one of many stories told by Andrew Smith, 13th club president, former player and chairman, and author of a superb, 232-page club history, published […]
Sutton-on-Hull Cricket Club throw 150th birthday party at Netherhall
Birthday parties are fun – and the one I attended at Sutton-on-Hull Cricket Club was no exception. Sutton, founded in 1872, mark their 150th anniversary this season. A high point of the celebrations was a visit, to the Netherhall ground, in Bransholme, by an MCC XI. The sun shone all day, the cricket was very […]
Around the Leagues: Title, promotion or relegation?
It is ‘do or die’ time for those eyeing championship glory or promotion, or seeking to avoid relegation, as Yorkshire’s 2022 club cricket season enters its final weeks. We start our review with the county’s four ECB-rated Premier Leagues. With two games to play, Woodlands (343pts) are on course to retain the Bradford Premier Cricket […]