With friendly fixtures likely outdoors in Yorkshire from April leading into league action, every cricket umpire across the land is dusting off their white coats, rummaging for ball counters and reacquainting themselves with the finer points of Duckworth-Lewis-Stern. **There have been the usual appeals crossing my @cricketyorks Twitter
Are Wakefield Thornes Cricket Club currently the best cricket club in Yorkshire? Discuss… Ok, that’s mischevious but the West Yorkshire club, with four senior sides and six junior teams, are understandably upbeat after their first eleven beat Pudsey St Lawrence in the Abu Dhabi final last October to be
I catch Yorkshire County Cricket Club batsman Jack Leaning by phone one afternoon for a natter about winter training and he launches into the meticulous, finessed programme tailored for each player. At this time of year, downtime centres around taking it easy and boxsetting it up given the likely punishing
As the frost crackles the leaves and we all cross our fingers against winter floods, spare a thought for the groundsmen around the country safeguarding sporting facilities from the elements. Based in Northampton, the company total-play has been working with those professional and amateur groundsmen, designing and installing top-
Harold “Dickie” Bird, he of the iconic white umpire’s cap and mischievous humour wrapped in a broad Barnsley accent, has had many honours bestowed over the years from MBE and OBE to Yorkshire County Cricket Club President. The latest focus on the charismatic octagenarian sees an exhibition entitled ‘Dickie
The launch of the ‘All Stars’ programme in Yorkshire was at Elland Road on Sunday. This new nationwide ECB initiative is aimed at attracting tens of thousands of five to eight year-olds to play cricket and encouraging a groundswell of popularity and young fans. Time will tell whether this
The phone chimes up just at the moment that I am making a conscious effort to burn dinner. It’s groundsman David Hodgson - universally known in cricketing circles as ‘Hodgy’ - who has returned my call around an interview after a day at a turf management exhibition in Harrogate. Discarding carbon-
The fielder stationed at short third man wore a red woolly hat while the umpire live-scored the match from his tablet. Welcome to cricket outdoors in mid-January. This charity fixture, in aid of the Sue Ryder Wheatfields hospice, who provide end-of-life care for patients with any
We all know a cricket coach that has proved pivotal whether for a team we support, our own relationship with the game or who has been instrumental for someone we know. For Leeds-based community coach Maryam Ali, her journey in cricket is only really starting but yet for those
The immediate answer (how often do you get that in an opening paragraph?) is that it depends if you’re a fan worried about the potential roadblock for young English county cricketers, a county coach looking to bolster an under-strength squad or a professional cricketer after financial security and
Well, well… Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s captaincy roll of honour now officially spans from Lord Hawke to Gary Ballance. Ballance has become Yorkshire County Cricket Club captain across all three formats after being approached by new First XI Coach Andrew Gale. The 27-year-old England batsman described the
The countdown to Christmas is well underway in the Cricket Yorkshire office. Caramel-infused mince pies have bitten the dust and thoughts turn to the choice of cricket reading out there to look forward to. Whether autobiographical journey, historical retrospective or light-hearted page-turner, the publishing houses have a
Richard Damms, Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s Academy & Development Coach, is juggling a phone interview with Cricket Yorkshire while doing the Christmas shopping in Barnsley. It’s an opportunity, as he circumnavigates the mayhem around Black Friday, to reflect on the Academy’s debut in the inaugural season of
There is nothing more likely to chill the blood of those involved at cricket clubs than the imminent threat of flooding. The devastation caused by the floods of 2015 is still being felt today. As Storm Angus battered the country this week with severe gales and heavy rain, there was
Even before my debut question to Matt Dwyer, Director of Participation & Growth at the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), there is a surprise. He asks me what I think about the recreational game in Yorkshire. It’s pleasantly unusual. This from the ECB, the governing body who so
Embed from Getty Images One of the burning questions of the autumn has been resolved as Yorkshire County Cricket Club captain Andrew Gale announced his retirement to become the successor to Jason Gillespie as first-team coach. This bold move by the county sees continuity within the club with Gale
