Arriving fashionably late at Bradford Park Avenue cricket ground, St Chad’s Broomfield Women’s XI were batting. The Leeds-based side, on Otley Road, hadn’t won a game this season but were off to a flier here at 60-0. The visitors clearly meant business, with three coaches in attendance, and they’ll have been pleased with the way […]
Club cricket
NYSD Kerridge Cup: Saltburn triumph at Fountains Garth
In my world, Bank Holidays are synonymous with sporting derby matches. Surely, it’s what the damn things were invented for! From a decent selection of fixtures (and after a careful assessment of the weather forecast for each quarter of the Broad Acres), I opted for a first visit to Fountains Garth, where Guisborough Cricket Club […]
Foss Evening Cricket League action at Dunnington
In the ‘groundhopping’ game, there’s always one that gets away. Somehow, despite living in York for longer than I’ve lived anywhere else (which, having terribly itchy feet, isn’t saying a great deal), I managed to miss visiting Dunnington Cricket Club when they were playing ECB Premier Division cricket. At the end of the 2021 season, […]
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 […]
Sykes Cup: Birkby Rose Hill vs Mirfield Parish Cavaliers
Watching a cup tie between buoyant teams with 2022 championship trophies on their CVs seemed like an excellent way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. An opportunity to reacquaint myself with the Huddersfield Cricket League was a bonus. So, off I went to north Huddersfield and Birkby Rose Hill Cricket Club, whose First XI were […]
Can cricket clubs find an undiscovered audience?
Charles Cowling, a fellow club cricket ground-hopper, shares his thoughts on how clubs might be able to tap into a new audience. (Image by John Fuller/ Cricket Yorkshire, a spectator at Upper Wharfedale CC) I love cricket. I love watching it played in Yorkshire’s loveliest landscapes. So every Saturday, I jump in the car and […]
What is the hardest cricket ground to find?
We have a lot to thank Google Maps and Street View for, even if it felt at the time as if permission was retrospective. By the way, we’ve mapped your road and house, hope you don’t mind. As someone who seeks out cricket in nooks and crevices across Yorkshire, finding my way to a ground […]
Ingleton Cricket Club: Paradise in the Yorkshire Dales
Ingleton Cricket Club is an outlier, as the only Yorkshire side in the Westmorland Cricket League that covers three counties. A cricket club AND a cricket league new to me? Time for a road trip. If you like caves and waterfalls, the village of Ingleton is a scenic hotspot; situated in the Craven district of […]
Alex Brown: Cricket coaching and starting a company in your teens
I caught up with a Level 2 cricket coach, Alex Brown, who combines playing for Wrenthorpe in the Bradford Premier League with improving young cricketers. Here’s our Q&A… Hey Alex, what’s your cricket background? I’ve played cricket since I was around five years old so over 13 years (I’m 19 in June 2023). This interest […]
Pool Cricket Club: Rain delays, beetles and time travel
I’m having almost as much success getting my 2023 cricket-watching season off the ground as rocket man Elon Musk attempting to jettison himself into space. Nobody needs reminding what a wet, windy, cold spring it’s been. Away in Kent for Easter, I caught the final, decisive day of a County Championship match between Division One […]