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 […]
Cricket Grounds
Malton & Old Malton: Ready for the top of Yorkshire’s pyramid
Shaun Harland “can’t wait” to captain Malton & Old Malton Cricket Club’s first team this season as they make their ECB Premier League, Premier Division debut. Shaun’s entire cricketing life, from under-nines to the age of 24, has been spent with Malton & Old Malton, who in 2022 secured promotion, as runners-up to champions Stamford […]
Exploring Remarkable Village Cricket Grounds
In the summer of 2022, I seem to have gravitated to village cricket grounds. From the green slab of St Ives at Harden to whitewashed walls and a stellar tea at Bradshaw, there’s been some real gems. Not to mention Beckwithshaw Cricket Club outside Harrogate and Luddenden Foot up in the heavens above Mytholmroyd. All […]
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 […]
Thornton Watlass: Village cricket, with quirks included
This article on Thornton Watlass Cricket Club was originally published in 2021 and is well worth a read, whenever you find it. *** As Andrew Gallon reports, Staithes set up a Voneus National Village Cup second round home tie, on May 9, against Scarborough Beckett League rivals Heslerton by winning at Thornton Watlass with 17 balls […]
Even having one of the best grounds in Yorkshire might not save Glasshouses
Recently, I spotted news on The Stray Ferret about the fact that Glasshouses Cricket Club in the Nidderdale Cricket League was in danger of folding. I was horrified. ‘No, this will not do!’ I said out loud to no-one in particular. Our cat looked up a little concerned. You see, Glasshouses Cricket Club is one […]
Filey aim high for Yorkshire Premier League North debut
Captain David Brannan Jnr believes Filey Cricket Club’s first team can make an immediate impact in the Yorkshire Premier League North, their new home. During the 2023 season, having left the Scarborough Beckett Cricket League this winter, Filey will contest Division Two (Holderness), the YPLN’s fourth tier. The opposition comprises the first teams of Hessle, […]
Thirsk: Watching club cricket inside a racecourse
The sports ground ‘collector’ is always on the lookout for something different. Playing inside a racecourse circuit – as do Thirsk Cricket Club – counts as unusual. Not unique, though, in my experience. Two decades ago, I watched Racing Club Warwick in a Southern Football League match at a ground enclosed by the town’s racecourse. […]
Sutton-on-Hull Cricket Club throw 150th birthday party at Netherhall
Birthday parties are fun – and the one I attended at Sutton-on-Hull Cricket Club was no exception. Sutton, founded in 1872, mark their 150th anniversary this season. A high point of the celebrations was a visit, to the Netherhall ground, in Bransholme, by an MCC XI. The sun shone all day, the cricket was very […]
Hemsworth Miners Welfare claim T20 Title at Streethouse
On three days of the recent four-day heatwave, I was lucky enough to watch cricket. Had there been any shade available to the spectating hoi polloi, at the County Ground, Derby, I might well have secured a full house. I don’t usually see so much cricket in such a short time but I’m starting to […]