I had two potential destinations to choose from on Saturday, one being an Airedale & Wharfedale Senior Cricket League game, and the other in the Theakston Nidderdale League. As I passed Blubberhouses’ ground on the A59, heading up to the recently re-opened Kex Gill pass, the discussion between Connor
Not so much a battle but a skirmish. I can hear the collective groan, “Not Harrogate again! You only visited there last week!”. I know…I know. Apologies, but hear me out. I headed to St. George’s Road last week when the weather was poor, knowing I had two
Unfortunately, on Sunday, I wasn’t able to schedule in a women’s game due to having to head towards Burley in Wharfedale to pick my daughter up from a weekend’s Guide camp. To be honest, I had pretty much resigned myself to not being able to get to
I’m not obsessed by the weather, but by the very nature of my job, I have to keep an eye on the forecast to ensure that I have the correct coats, boots and hats to hand…as well as ensuring I pick up the correct camera equipment and rain
Looking around the fixture list for Sunday’s venue, there were a number of potential destinations for me to travel to…with the Hambleton Women’s Outdoor Soft Ball League (West) game between Ouseburn and Ripon being the first choice. However, as I prepared to set off, I was disappointed
‘Spofforth is the centre of the universe’ – a schoolfriend once said in all seriousness to answer a question posed by the young unsuspecting geography teacher during a lesson one Thursday afternoon at Harrogate Grammar School. Now, being totally honest, he probably knew that wasn’t the case, but watching the
Sunday arrived and I was certainly worried about the weather. The forecast over the weekend was very unsettled, with threats of drizzle and longer showers, potentially disrupting games scheduled on both days. I’d looked at the fixture lists for the next few weeks on Monday, pencilling in various destinations,
I love grounds like Pannal; secluded from the main road, transporting you away from everyday life, almost suspending normality. There are still the distant sounds of cars travelling on the main road that runs between Harrogate and Leeds, and the occasional blast of the train’s horn to signal its
Another one of those days where I arrive way too early for a game, which isn’t a problem if I haven’t been to the ground before, or certainly haven’t been there in many years. However, this was Harrogate Cricket Club and a ground that I know intimately.
“We’ve got a copy of John’s book behind the bar…” I think I heard that three times on Saturday. “We got our own mention!” It appears that Ripon Cricket Club are very proud to feature in John Fuller’s Dales, Bails and Cricket Club Tales. (Editor's
Wednesday night saw me drive the short distance to Killinghall for the Harrogate & District Amateur Evening Cricket League’s semi-final of the CB Atkinson Trophy between Killinghall and Whixley. After the end of the recent Old Testament floods, it seems like Noah can park his boat for the
When Prometheus decided to use lamb’s wool to give us mere mortals a sign that Zeus was sending rain our way [and in doing so, invented clouds], I’m not sure he was trying to depress cricket players and fans alike. However, as Wednesday turned into Thursday and Prometheus
I’d put a call out on social media a couple of weeks ago to find out what women’s games were on that week, as the weather had been poor and quite a few weekend fixtures were in real doubt. About a week later, Paul Priestley popped a reply
Saturday arrived and I had planned the relative short trip to Hampsthwaite Cricket Club, situated in a small village a stone’s throw from Killinghall, with both villages on the north side of Harrogate. The blue sky was showing in patches, threatening nice weather, but it was also a bit
Wednesday night means Harrogate & District Amateur Evening Cricket League action. Working on a client photo and video project during the day, I had left it much too late to travel anywhere with any element of choice, so I scrolled through the Play-Cricket app to find the nearest game.
Over the past decade, my coverage of grassroots women’s cricket has been, let’s be totally honest, poor. I have got to games, but infrequently and usually put to one side because of commercial pressures to cover county or international men’s and women’s cricket instead. This season,
