In common with every other cricket enthusiast, I found April a frustrating month, as rain, rain then a bit more rain dashed my spectating plans. So, the early May arrival of long overdue sunshine and warmth saw me scrambling to find a midweek fixture belatedly to get my 2024 season up and running. Keen as […]
#Cricket Grounds
Baptism of fire for Shiregreen on return to top flight
Hard up against the southwest corner of Shiregreen Cricket Club’s compact ground are unmissable signs, mounted high on a wall, advertising an adjacent fireworks shop. Unfortunately, at least for Shiregreen, the only sparklers on display, when I made my first visit to the 2024 Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League top-flight newcomers, were the players of […]
Grass half full: Keith Boyce on cricket pitches at New Rover
Keith Boyce, Head Groundsman at New Rover Cricket Club since 1999, knows a thing or two about cricket pitches. The former groundsman at Yorkshire County Cricket Club for 30 years (below right) is talking about plotting safe passage across a boggy outfield to get the heavy equipment on: “It’s very restricted getting machinery out to […]
Coming home: Village cricket returns to North Cave
“Village cricket is dying” is a common soundbite but there are reasons for cheer, if you seek them out. North Cave is a village in East Yorkshire, separated from the River Humber as it makes its way inland by the M62. Cricket returns to the village in 2024 as it welcomes the newly formed North […]
Club cricket groundskeepers face race against time to be ready
In something of a repeat of last year, the wet weather has played havoc with pitch makers who face the usual race to be ready for April fixtures. In 2023, my article on Yorkshire’s leagues postponing fixtures caught the attention, on account of the fact that we’d had record-breaking rain and many clubs had been […]
New beginnings: Merger sees Warley & Elland CC at Hullen Edge
A merger that sees the formation of Warley & Elland Cricket Club has kept cricket alive at a historic ground in West Yorkshire. Warley CC, of the ENCO Halifax Cricket League, have joined forces with Elland Cricket Club; the latter resigned from the Huddersfield Cricket League towards the end of last season. The new club […]
Social cricket at Bolton Abbey with Hawks and Druids
There is a world of cricket matches going on across Yorkshire that don’t compete in leagues and finding out who and where they play is to dip into the role of the detective. Welcome to the underworld of cricket friendlies. Have a read of this past adventure… Back at the start of May when it […]
Total Play Cricket Shield comes to Bradford Park Avenue
In this content collaboration with Total Play, we report on a brand-new product that has been installed at Bradford Park Avenue. The community cricket ground, off Canterbury Avenue, is a popular venue that is used by thousands of Bradfordians every year. The site previously offered state-of-the-art outdoor nets – but has had an exciting £1.5m […]
Tracing the lost cricket clubs of Yorkshire
Bradford League historian and local league ground-hopper Reg Nelson takes a look at three Yorkshire cricket clubs in Queensbury, Highbury and Dewsbury & Savile to trace their fortunes and ultimately, their demise. We all know of cricket clubs that have folded across Yorkshire and grounds that aren’t used any more – at the same time, […]
Starbeck Cricket Club: Only just getting started
A new cricket club forming in Yorkshire is unusual, if not completely unheard of. There are already some 800 or so across the region – so why go to the effort of setting up your own? Starbeck Cricket Club, who finished their first season in Division Eight of the Nidderdale Cricket League as champions, have […]