Glancing at the draw for the 2024 Heavy Woollen Cup caught my attention today. Woodhouse Grange, out in the countryside to the East of York, had entered for the first time. It was a reminder of a couple of things. Firstly, that Premier League clubs from other leagues beyond West Yorkshire are happy to travel […]
Friendlies: The glue that binds the grassroots game together?
Chris Stride, who plays for Sheffield University Staff CC and the Forty Club (YNE), examines the enduring appeal of cricket friendlies and their many benefits, including for league clubs. “Friendlies? That’s not proper cricket!” “I only play league games” “Friendly cricket? What’s that? Cricket is war!” These are just a few of the comments I’ve […]
Why your cricket club needs FrogBox this year
Cricket Yorkshire is excited to partner with FrogBox, the cricket live-streaming solution offering professional broadcasting to any cricket club. Cricket clubs can now stream matches in real-time to YouTube, offer highlights clips on social media and promote sponsors to a global audience. FrogBox is the exclusive streaming platform to integrate with Play-Cricket Scorer and Play-Cricket […]
Motley Almanack: The joy of club cricket statistics
It came in the post before Christmas. An A4, ring-bound compilation from the Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League. The Motley Almanac. A statistical review of the season for 2023. So named after Kevin Motley, a scorer for Harrogate, Barnsley Woolley Miners and the Yorkshire Diamonds who passed away in 2023. I didn’t know the entirety […]
Looking ahead to 2024: A Year of equity and environment
I thought I’d talk you through some trends that are likely to unfold in grassroots cricket over 2024. A bit of crystal ball gazing combined with analysis of news from the ECB and my own observations. It is very in-depth so I’ve got these headings, if you want to jump to the relevant section. 🏏 […]
How to recruit more club members (without Lord Kitchener)
YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU! A man with a mighty moustache, wearing a military hat stares out. His gloved right hand points sternly right at you. Look familiar? It’s the ‘Your Country Needs You’ poster depicting Lord Kitchener from 1914, urging volunteers to join the British Expeditionary Force. This graphic crops up on social media from […]
2023 Review: From behind the Cricket Yorkshire keyboard
During December, I tend to look back at the year that’s been and hold it in my hand, a bit like a shell from a beach. In the moment, it can all be a bit of a blur but as we approach the shortest day of the year, it feels like the right time to […]
Reader Survey: How can we improve Cricket Yorkshire In 2024?
It’s that time of year. The heating is on in the Cricket Yorkshire office (with our cat asleep next to me) and planning is well underway for how this website moves forward in 2024. It’s been an incredible year here in many ways and I am always mindful that you, the reader, are at the […]
Total Play: How Heslington funded and built their outdoor net
Every year, across Yorkshire and beyond, cricket clubs are upgrading their outdoor cricket facilities. In this content collaboration with Total Play, we’ll look at Heslington Cricket Club to see the positive impact already being noticed. (This article was originally published in January 2021). In 2022, Heslington Cricket Club had a single-lane enclosed facility as well […]
How total-play helped Whitley Hall build their outdoor cricket nets
Whitley Hall Cricket Club are enjoying a period of growth with their new Ladies section as well as All Stars and Dynamos programmes proving popular. (Article published originally in December 2021) With that welcome surge of interest came its own challenges over facilities provision; particularly around building outdoor cricket nets and upgrading their tired artificial […]