Finding Hull Cricket Club’s ground on Chanterlands Avenue North proved our first test for this Saturday morning. Brian, who some of you will know if you’ve read All Wickets Great and Small, is nothing if not old school. So no maps, not paper nor one filled with computer pixels, just Brian’s usually Encyclopaedic memory of […]
Quaid-e-Azam League at Bradford Park Avenue
As midday approaches, Bradford feels like it’s only just tentatively waking with a muggy walk up Laisteridge Lane towards Bradford Park Avenue. Today is all about a Quaid-e-Azam Sunday Cricket League match between White Rose and Indus Ghari in the semi-final of the chefgenie Shield. Not one to stand on ceremony, my eye is caught […]
Yorkshire V Cancer at the Ingilby Shield
The forecast bleakly predicted rain. Siling it down, as they say here in Yorkshire. The graphic on my smartphone was prophesising a light soaking building to the kind of downpour where you anxiously seek higher ground. Sunday’s Theakston Nidderdale Cricket League Ingilby Shield fixture – pitting a League Representative XI against a team of overseas […]
What was it like writing a cricket book?
So, I’ve joined the ranks of published cricket authors now that All Wickets Great and Small – an exploration by foot, bus and rail last summer of Yorkshire club cricket – is out in all good book shops. The book launch at Waterstones Leeds last Friday saw friends, family, cricket fans and those who know […]
Pudsey sunshine and sixes for Bradford Cricket League derby
Getting off at New Pudsey railway station for the Bank Holiday derby between Congs and St Lawrence was to realise you should never go anywhere in Yorkshire without a coat. The clouds were meant to burn off later but for now, a flotilla of sooty ships forged a ghostly path across the skies and a […]
All Wickets Great and Small is Here!
**UPDATE – NOVEMBER 2017** I’m delighted my cricket book, All Wickets Great and Small, has been so generously reviewed and supported. Thanks to everyone who has bought a copy and all those who took the time to get in touch to offer their feedback, favourite chapter or cricket ground. If you’ve yet to snap up […]
A flooding comeback and a dog called George in Bingley
Last Saturday was a rarity, waking up without any place I had to be. Due to a cricket injury after bellyflopping for a catch like a domino being unceremoniously toppled, a full day was there for the taking. Inevitably, it involved cricket and after a visit to Bradford & Bingley to watch their game against […]
Black and white hats and cricket bats in Ilkley
A cricket match that can be traced as far back as 1880 has once more been contested as part of the Ilkley Carnival on May Bank Holiday Monday. The history of this annual game between shopkeepers and tradesmen, whose teams wore black or white hats, came to light when I was researching a chapter of […]
Guiding Yorkshire CCC’s future stars
Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s Director of Development Ian Dews sits thoughtfully in the North East stand at Headingley, as we ponder the constantly evolving production line of cricketers involved in the county’s system. Dews has been part of the coaching furniture here at Yorkshire CCC for years with a specific remit for the county Seconds […]
A morning with YCF Ambassador Joe Root
The train from Sheffield to Dore and Totley bounced along the track as we huffed and puffed along the Hope Valley line. It’s only a short walk from the railway station to Abbeydale Sports Club, with the path leading uphill past the shock pink and blue hockey astroturf and a building on the left that […]