Harry Brook is breaking batting records and earning plaudits at the dizzying speed at which he plays. As 2024 heads towards a close, he is the number one-ranked batter in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings, nudging Joe Root off top spot. It was an astute compliment from Root who called Brook “far and away […]
Aire Wharfe Cricket League
Paying club cricketers: Blurring the lines
Paying cricketers has to be the single most contentious issue in club cricket and is discussed here on Cricket Yorkshire. Editor’s Note: This article has been refreshed for 2025. Do club cricketers get paid? Yes, they do – but not everyone. The majority of amateur cricketers who play in clubs and leagues are not paid. […]
Aire-Wharfe League: Rodley and Follifoot await vote nervously
In the Aire-Wharfe Cricket League, there is an annual vote by all member clubs, revealed at their AGM, as to whether to retain the two lowest ranked clubs – or eject them. For 2024, the two clubs at risk of being without a cricket league to join for 2025 are Rodley and Follifoot. It is […]
Skipton Community Sports Hub opens at Sandylands
The Skipton Community Sports Hub is a welcome new addition at Sandylands. The £1m new facility will be home to Skipton Cricket Club, Skipton Juniors FC and Skipton Ladies AFC, as well as being available for community use – as a bar and for venue hire. Malcolm Birks, chair of the Skipton Community Sports Hub, […]
Aire-Wharfe: Fitting finale at Addingham Cricket Club
A return to Addingham Cricket Club was long overdue; I came close in the National Village Cup until the game with Scottish side, Falkland, was won by the hosts by walkover due to a clash with cup competitions. Beyond Silsden, there’s a pleasing panorama that opens up as Bolton Road affords a long speedy straight […]
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 […]
Rules vs common sense: Leafblowers and seeing the light
If there’s one thing that club cricket excels at, it’s rules, regulations and calculations, occasionally to its detriment. This is about light, leaf blowers and common sense. Seeing the light It’s not just the recreational game that can sometimes stray into a soap opera. Anyone who watched the third Test match at The Oval where […]
Winners revealed in the Cricket Yorkshire Tea of the Year 2024
The Cricket Yorkshire Tea of the Year for 2024, sponsored by Yorkshire Tea, has been a blast to run again. We have shaken things up with new categories to reflect the cost of cricket teas as well as the diversity in diets, culture and food here in Yorkshire. The standard has been phenomenal again. The […]
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 […]
Chappell Cup: Starfish among the shadows as Ilkley make semi-finals
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 any sort of game as the location and […]