Heading into the second half of 2023, the standings in Yorkshire’s recreational cricket leagues are starting to indicate who the season’s winners and losers might be. Let’s start at the top of the pyramid, with the four ECB Premier League, Premier Divisions. In the Bradford Premier Cricket League, Woodlands appear on course to secure a […]
Bradford Cricket League
Which league cricketers are good enough to play for Yorkshire?
The news that Cameron Fletcher, New Farnley’s wicketkeeper-batter, had swapped the Bradford Premier League for a county stint with Glamorgan got me thinking. In the case of Fletcher, he’s a first-class cricketer already, plays for Canterbury back home and was twice named in New Zealand’s Test squads in 2022. Photo: Ray Spencer – see more […]
Taj Butt & Great Horton Church: Inspiring junior cricketers
This is the story of Great Horton Church; a thriving, inner-city cricket club in Bradford whose community outreach stretches far beyond the game. I’m anticipating traffic congestion to get to Allerton Road in BD8 for the usual 6.15pm start. As it turns out, the drive over the top, past Bradford Royal Infirmary Hospital, a trip […]
National Club Championship: The road to Lord’s begins
The ECB National Club Championship is back – and with it comes the prospect of Yorkshire’s cricket clubs showing what they’re made of against the best in the country. The Royal London Club Championship (current sponsor) is 40-overs knockout cricket with a Lord’s final inked in for Saturday 9th September 2023. Here, I’ll share some […]
Heavy Woollen Cup: History, heritage and plenty at stake
It’s particularly in an Ashes year when the Heavy Woollen Cup comes into sharper focus. The England-Australia rivalry is as old as it gets – and yet, this club cricket trophy in Yorkshire first took place less than a year later in 1883. Once limited to 32 clubs who were based within a strict distance […]
Pudsey St Lawrence: Primed, proud and ready on all fronts
The last time I saw Chris Marsden or ‘Spike’ as he’s known in Bradford Cricket League circles, was a visit in 2019 to their Tofts Road ground for their rain-affected game against Methley. It was for a feature in The Cricket Paper and a lot has happened for all of us since. I tend to […]
Which is the most iconic pavilion in Yorkshire cricket?
Which is the most iconic pavilion in Yorkshire cricket? Now there’s a topic for debate, but aficionados in the Bradford Premier League would probably vote for Lightcliffe. It was therefore an emotional morning on a Saturday in March when the iconic 101-year-old red and white structure was demolished to make way for a more spacious […]
How on earth do leagues find more umpires for next season?
NEWSPAPERS, who tend to have skeleton staffs these days due to drastically reduced income from just about all of their traditional financial streams (about the only growth area these days is from the internet), have taken to re-printing pages from days gone by. Some would say that was a benefit to older readers, despite the […]
Charlotte Boulton: Bradford League wickets & women’s captaincy
Crossflatts Cricket Club’s Charlotte Boulton has quite the CV; which she dives into between sips of her cappuccino. One of the reasons for the interview is led by the fact that Charlotte finished the 2022 Bradford Premier League season as the second-highest wicket-taker, across all divisions. (Stats note: That’s just league cricket with Zafar Mahmood […]
Woodlands’ Tom Clee talks teeing off and titles
Bill Marshall talks to Tom Clee, of Woodlands Cricket Club in the Bradford Premier League, about switching clubs, the Woodlands way and how his game has progressed this season. Tom Clee is used to making big decisions. For example, when the Woodlands all-rounder was an under-12 he chose to move from Northowram Fields (literally over […]