My first game of the 2024 season was supposed to be at Goldsborough. I remember the day was pretty warm, the sky filled with fluffy white clouds dotted around the blue backdrop, and there was a light wind blowing from the farmer’s fields across the ground. The real problem was we’d had one of the […]
Caught Light: Reflections from a busy club cricket season
A rough count of grassroots cricket games I’ve been to this season, seems to come out at around 65. That is a personal best for a single season in the last decade, and I must admit for the vast majority of visits, it has been a real pleasure. As October arrives, I wanted to sit […]
Close call: Sicklinghall snatch second and go up on net run rate
The last day of the Theakston Nidderdale League threatened to feature the same weather that dominated it in April. The forecast on Wednesday/Thursday suggested an overcast day with spells of light rain, and potentially the worst weather of the weekend at any rate. However, on Saturday morning I pulled the bedroom curtains apart like a […]
Beckwithshaw win promotion to the Aire-Wharfe Premier Division
Looking back to September 2022, Beckwithshaw faced probably their fiercest local rivals, knowing that they had to win to retain their top-flight status. Ultimately, the visitors to The Stag Den, Bilton, dominated the game, relegating Beckwithshaw’s first team to Division Two. I was sitting on the boundary rope that day, covering what had been another […]
Darley beat the rain and claim the points over Birstwith
The weekend’s weather forecast was poor, with Saturday’s oulook slightly better than Sunday. In the end, Sunday was a complete washout with persistent rain falling most of the daylight hours. Looking out of the window on Saturday morning, it was murky and damp. Autumn had arrived in force, with a healthy mist blanketing a lot […]
Blubberhouses rain boundaries on scenic Birstwith
It’s becoming tough to select games to cover at the weekends – this isn’t down to a lack of fixtures available to choose from, but more to do with trying to select games with teams that I haven’t covered in at least the past couple of seasons. Looking through the fixture list on Play Cricket, […]
Crakehall glide to victory at Burton Leonard Cricket Club
Friday’s Storm Lilian caused havoc around the county [and further afield watching the news]. The winds had seemingly come and gone in a blink of an eye, but in that time had left trees down, branches strewn across roads, roofs and other susceptible structures minus a tile here and a trampoline there. Through my own […]
Bradford Park Avenue Ladies win at Crossflatts to go top
There were a few games being held on Sunday and to be totally honest, the choice was made for me – considering the top two in the league were playing each other. What league? What top two? I hear you ask. Well, as you may or may not know [depending on whether you have read […]
Beckwithshaw 2nd XI recover from 24-5 to defeat Bardsey
It’s come to that time of the season where the number of games scheduled in a week is dropping considerably. Leagues and cups are reaching their climax and others have finished, making the fixture list something of a tricky thing to navigate. Combine that with who is playing at home, who is away, which teams […]
West Yorkshire Women and Girls’ League: Menston spring a surprise at Skipton
I’ve been rather unlucky over the past two weeks. Sundays have been put aside to cover women’s cricket – but frustratingly, there have been relatively few games scheduled, and the last one that I had planned to go to was postponed…which I only found out about when I turned up at the ground. This week, […]