As a club cricketer, travelling away from home was always a delight for me, wherever I’ve played in the UK. In West Somerset, we would rocket around country lanes, with hedgetops converging like untamed eyebrows, en route to an idyllic cricket field that was hidden, unless you knew it was the third left past Lower […]
6 ways to get your cricket when the season’s on pause
We’re in an unprecedented period at the moment with all cricket suspended due to coronavirus. At home and spending far more time than usual indoors, it’s a chance to think creatively about how we connect with the game in different ways. If you’re looking for inspiration, I’ve put together a free guide with ideas and […]
How did Yorkshire’s cricket grounds look for the first weekend of the season?
The weekend of 18-19 April 2020 was meant to be the starting blocks for a glorious summer of club cricket. Due to the suspension of all recreational sport and coronavirus lockdown, cricket grounds across the country instead lie dormant and empty. I thought the work that groundsmen and cricket clubs put into their facilities and […]
Weekly Column: Sixes and Wickets, Tiger King & BrooksBusters
Wednesday 8 April I had a Google Calendar reminder today that the Halifax Cricket League was due to be hosting a cricket event at Piece Hall over the Easter weekend. It was to be a chance to bring the game beyond its usual surroundings to the good people of Calderdale in the stunning surroundings of […]
Weekly Column: Shielding, meringues and home-made bowling machine
Thursday 3 April I got a letter from the hospital saying that, because I take medication that weakens my immune system, I am deemed at high risk and must take added precautions as of today and go into a 12-week, bells-and-whistles lockdown. The term is to ‘shield’ for 3 months and involves not going outside […]
Weekly Column: Christmas pud for lunch as Virat Kohli signs for Yorkshire
In the second part of Cricket Yorkshire’s new column, it’s all happening at CYHQ from festive food choices to signing India’s captain. Monday 23 March This is actually happening. We are now in full lockdown as a country. It’s not that I thought the mayhem from the coronavirus was merely a grim nightmare I’d awake […]
ECB gives update for clubs and leagues on COVID-19
The England & Wales Cricket Board’s latest update about coronavirus, aimed at cricket clubs and leagues, outlined the latest thinking across a number of areas. Given Cricket Yorkshire’s audience includes a great number of players, coaches, clubs and leagues, here’s a summary for you: National Programmes All Stars and Dynamos Cricket remain suspended – further […]
James Lee: Facing Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Ex-Yorkshire County Cricket Club seam bowler James Lee recalls a second chance with Leeds Bradford MCCU and a five-wicket haul before lunch against his old county in the 2013 season-opener. *This article originally appeared in Cricket Yorkshire’s Best of 2013 Magazine.** Growing up through the junior ranks with Yorkshire County Cricket Club, it was clear […]
Zafir Patel: Swapping Bradford University for the IPL
Here’s the incredible tale of a Yorkshire university student getting the call to play in the world’s highest-profile T20 league. Ex-Leeds Bradford MCCU bowler Zafir Patel recalls swapping Bradford University for the Indian Premier League. *This article originally appeared in Cricket Yorkshire’s Best of 2013 Magazine.** It was a bitterly cold winter’s evening at Headingley […]
Cricket Games: Battrick – Hours of fun agonising over tactics
It’s Battrick deadline time. The clock ticks down. But not nearly fast enough for my liking. This is the world of free, addictive cricket games. The pressure of managing a club cricket team. Five minutes. Two minutes. Refresh the page for the umpteenth time and check the transfer market for updates. Nope, still the highest […]