Around half an hour to the west of Bradford lies the Worth Valley village of Haworth, a vibrant West Yorkshire hotspot. Tourists exercise their legs and make the steep climb up to Haworth, whether for steampunk or 1940s weekends, the famous heritage railway or Bronte connections. However, at the very top, hidden away on Penistone […]
Cricket Grounds
Triangle Cricket Club: Small but perfectly formed
The allure of Triangle Cricket Club can be reached by winding your way down a hill that puts you the summit of a rollercoaster; before plunging over, down, left and right through the village to the aptly named Grassy Bottom. Parking requires creative thinking and as we did a seven-point turn, glimpses of the cricket […]
Grey Fox Trophy: 50 Not Out at Church Fenton
Sunday got off to an inauspicious start. I made a grumbling noise of disapproval, like a wave crashing onto a beach, at the cost of a rail ticket to Church Fenton to watch Wetherby Wrinklies take on Bolton Villas in the over 50s competition, the Grey Fox Trophy. Ow much?! “It’s nearly at York,” said […]
Wickets and wow factor at Eggborough Power Station
You can see the humongous chimneys of Eggborough Power Station for miles before you actually turn into the main entrance. In a cluttered vista of power lines and industry, they stand as monumental guardians. This is Yorkshire’s power station square mile (not literally but they’re close enough) with Drax and Ferrybridge also in the vicinity. […]
Scenic splendour and gigantic scones at Cawthorne
Sat on a sofa in Huddersfield’s Cafe Society a few streets from St. George’s Square, the prospect of watching the earliest league cricket in Yorkshire, if not the country, was the reason I was grinning like a buffoon. The theme to the Austin Powers film bounced off the walls (‘Soul Bossa Nova’ by Quincy Jones […]
Climate Cover helps Get The Game On
As the frost crackles the leaves and we all cross our fingers against winter floods, spare a thought for the groundsmen around the country safeguarding sporting facilities from the elements. Based in Northampton, the company total-play has been working with those professional and amateur groundsmen, designing and installing top-quality sports surfaces, including cricket covers, since […]
Sicklinghall: What do you do when your cricket club is burnt to the ground?
Sicklinghall Cricket Club is reeling with shock after a fire, believed to have started before midnight last Saturday, has completely destroyed all of their buildings. Absolutely nothing is left. The clubhouse, scorebox and equipment shed along with memorabilia and machinery are all gone with North Yorkshire Police and Fire Services unable to prevent the blaze claiming everything. This proud club has […]
Sheffield’s cricket grounds come up trumps
Our Saturday of exploring cricket in Sheffield actually began outside the city with a dip into Sheffield & Phoenix United Cricket Club in Brinsworth, south of Rotherham. It was a local derby at Bawtry Road where Sheffield Collegiate’s first eleven were the visitors and as we climbed out of the car, the LBW shout against […]
Yorkshire & Derbyshire Cricket League: Parkhead vs Sheffield Collegiate
When we pulled into the car park at the back of the Toby Carvery on Sheffield’s Ecclesall Road South, it was with something of a heavy heart as it looked like there was movement with Parkhead Cricket Club’s ground covers going on. The reality of Saturday’s weather had been nothing like the morning forecast – […]
Wickets and IPL stardust at Hull Cricket Club
Finding Hull Cricket Club’s ground on Chanterlands Avenue North proved our first test for this Saturday morning. Brian, who some of you will know if you’ve read All Wickets Great and Small, is nothing if not old school. So no maps, not paper nor one filled with computer pixels, just Brian’s usually Encyclopaedic memory of […]