For Katie Levick, 2020 was going to be a stellar cricketing year. Picked for the Northern Superchargers, the Yorkshire leg-spinner was set to demonstrate her prowess in The Hundred. Coronavirus changed all that and after months of lockdown where indoor yoga was something of a substitute for booming leggies, it’s satisfying that any cricket is […]
Scarborough Cricket Festival: Off but not out
There is no Scarborough Cricket Festival in 2020; a victim of the fallout from coronavirus. I believe it’s the only time the Festival has not taken place, outside the war years. It’s true that you only miss something when it’s gone. For many, Scarborough is the highlight of the year; first date in their diary […]
Sheffield Caribbean: Nurturing talent as a feeder club
Milton Samuels has lived and breathed Caribbean Cricket Club in Sheffield since joining at the age of 14. Some 50 years later, he has a few stories to tell. Back then in the 70s, Crookesmoor (as it was) played friendlies as they didn’t think they were good enough for league cricket. With no home ground […]
Super 1s: Kian’s Yorkshire cricket success story
Kian James is in his kitchen with his grandma Pauline on video chat, grinning away and listing his favourite international cricketers. The poster boy in Yorkshire for disability cricket programme, Super 1s, reels off Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Joffa Archer. We then swap views on the rollercoaster that was the ODI series with Ireland. […]
National Village Cup: Crunch-time for Yorkshire teams
National Village Cup duty for Yorkshire cricket teams steps up a notch now that we’ve reached the national rounds. Carlton Towers, Folkton & Flixton & Kippax all still in the mix, having battled through their respective Yorkshire rivals. Houghton Main, who were finalists in 2019, fell well short of Kippax’s 245-8 with Moosa Bhoda (73) […]
Courtney Hill: Inspiring girls to play cricket
Leeds Rhinos’ scrum-half Courtney Hill is at home discussing the exciting talent pool of women and girls playing cricket in Yorkshire. With rugby league currently in stasis due to Covid-19, I’m giving her a call about the coaching she’s been doing with the Yorkshire Cricket Board over a couple of years. If you don’t know […]
Read The Nightwatchman: Club & Roses Cricket
What does the Nightwatchman conjure up for you? Is it the past phenomenon of England’s least capable batsmen shuffling out to face hostile fast bowling in the gathering gloom? Well, for seven years and over 1.5m words, Wisden has been publishing a quite brilliant quarterly collection of essays, called The Nightwatchman, on every corner of […]
York Senior League: Why Pocklington turned down cricket
The decision by Pocklington Cricket Club not to play any league cricket in 2020 (due to Covid-19) can’t have been easy. When I heard, I thought they’d be a very rare exception but the reality is that clubs have opted not to participate in leagues across Yorkshire, due to worries over Covid-19. It’s important to […]
Aire-Wharfe Cricket: Harden vs Otley
As I walked through the St Ives Estate on this latest Aire-Wharfe cricket pilgrimage, an LBW shout echoed through the trees. It was otherwise eerily quiet for a dry but chilly Yorkshire Day. At Harden Cricket Club, play was underway in this Aire-Wharfe Cricket League Division 4 encounter. After a dousing of hand sanitiser at […]
Incredible, unseen letters of Brian Close: Just a Few Lines
Just a Few Lines is the remarkable story of the unseen letters and memorabilia of Yorkshire & England batsman Dennis Brian Close CBE. It is a cricket book that will grab the interest of anyone who wants to be introduced to a treasure trove directly from the pen of this famous son of Rawdon. You’ll […]