I’ve got a soft spot for the far corner of Yorkshire which, when I worked on Teesside during the 1990s, was dubbed ‘Cleveland’, an ancient name reinvigorated by the local authority. At the time, I lived at Great Ayton, a pleasant village where the future Captain James Cook went to school. Ayton was an ideal […]
Club cricket
The return of strawberry cheesecake and what it means for club cricket
I heard it long before the first white dots moving around Harden Cricket Club’s outfield came into view. An LBW appeal echoed through the trees of St Ives Estate in this leafy quadrant of BD16. Half a minute later, a ‘tock’ of a cricket bat striking leather reached my ears, somewhere off to the left. […]
Eleven To Watch: Early-Season in Yorkshire [2022]
Andrew Gallon picks his must-watch club cricket matches across Yorkshire in April & May. *** Throughout an unexpectedly sunny, mild March, my anticipation grew, day by day, as the 2022 club cricket season loomed closer. I’ll gloss over the recent snow! It seems Saturday, April 16 is the earliest date to take in a competitive […]
Cricket Club insurance: How these Yorkshire clubs chose theirs
Fishlake Cricket & Bowls Club probably didn’t worry too much about their cricket club insurance until the River Don burst its banks in November 2019. The South Yorkshire village suffered extraordinary flooding and Fishlake Cricket & Bowls Club was badly affected. I caught up with Sam Pepper to discuss how things were then and now […]
Speed guns, overseas players and cricket teas: Your questions answered
In a moment of madness, I offered to answer any questions relating to cricket that readers might like to ask. Thanks to everyone who emailed or sent them in via social media. It was a lot of fun to record and perhaps we can do more across the cricket season and choose a subject each […]
Sewerby Cricket Club: Yorkshire’s coastal castle
Having talked to Java sparrows and met a Humboldt penguin, it was time to go in search of Sewerby Cricket Club. It struck me that Sewerby could well be my favourite ground I’ve never actually watched cricket at, with Bamburgh running it close. They share close proximity to the coast so perhaps it’s that. In […]
Recreational cricket: What is in store in 2022?
As we look ahead to recreational cricket outdoors in England during 2022, what will be the trends and challenges for the grassroots game? Coronavirus is still very much with us though we collectively have the experiences of the past 2 years to call upon in managing any future restrictions or setbacks. I’ve said it before […]
How has flooding affected Yorkshire’s cricket clubs?
In the last decade, cricket clubs in Yorkshire have been battered repeatedly by the wave of storms to hit the UK. Dudley, Eunice and Franklin might sound friendly enough but the hat-trick of meteorological havoc that arrived on these shores in a single week in February 2022 was unprecedented. Volunteers at cricket clubs find themselves […]
How FrogBox paid for itself in less than 2 years at West Bretton
Since our article introduced FrogBox, the live streaming kit for cricket clubs, there’s been lots of interest and teams are snapping them up for this season. In this new content collaboration, I’ve interviewed Scott Ledger of West Bretton Cricket Club, about how they get the best from FrogBox. We’ll dive into: Why they bought a […]
Grassroots Cricket Awards celebrate volunteers across Yorkshire
The inaugural Grassroots Cricket Awards for Yorkshire took place at Headingley on 23 March to recognise all of those volunteers who contribute to recreational cricket in Yorkshire. This delayed and rebooted version of what used to be the ‘OSCAs’ is organised by the Yorkshire Cricket Board and there are new categories, with nine recipients chosen […]