I read an article recently that made me smile at the headline and then shake my head in disbelief at what happened. It was about a Mankad incident in club cricket here in Yorkshire. It wasn’t the first and it won’t be the last – but even so. You’re a knowledgeable lot so you’ll probably […]
Club Cricket
Aire-Wharfe Cricket: Rodley & Bingley Congs face off
It’s Saturday morning and I’m scouring around for fixtures, while checking the weather across Yorkshire. Ideally somewhere with a walk, green outdoor space and relatively new for Cricket Yorkshire, decent parking. Rodley’s home match in Division 4 of the Aire-Wharfe Cricket League gets my vote, not least because their opponents are Bingley Congs, my local […]
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 […]
Forge Valley lose points and fined for late withdrawal
Amongst the cat videos on Facebook and dodgy ads, occasionally something else leaps out. I was scrolling through and a strongly-worded statement from the Scarborough Beckett Cricket League stood out: “The League Management Committee (LMC) has reluctantly agreed to a request from Forge Valley CC to withdraw from the Premier Division for the 2023 season. […]
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 […]
Many cricket leagues postpone their season start in Yorkshire
Nothing gets us quite so fired up as the weather – especially when it affects the cricket season. The North Yorkshire & South Durham Cricket League’s decision to postpone the start of their cricket season by a week was a big call. Unusual but not quite unprecedented – and sensible given March was the wettest […]
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 […]
Harrogate Cricket Club: The next chapter
I wrote an article not so long ago about Glasshouses Cricket Club and their very real struggles to stay afloat for another season. One of the comments came from George Owram, joint chair at Harrogate Cricket Club, who shared his thoughts on loaning out juniors to Glasshouses, Pateley Bridge and others. It got the grey […]
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 […]
Kevin Watson: Wrenthorpe glory and captaining Yorkshire Over 60s
Did you know that Yorkshire’s pedigree extends to the older age brackets in the County Championship too? We caught up with Yorkshire Over 60s captain Kevin Watson to discuss his club cricket background, captaincy approach and ambitions for this season. Kevin began cricket as a junior at East Ardsley Cricket Club, back in the mid-1970s, […]