When is a majority not a majority? That was the question that exercised minds after the Aire-Wharfe League’s special general meeting last Wednesday at Otley RUFC. Pool, unhappy at their second team being relegated when they finished ninth in a 12-team division, forced the meeting at the second attempt by garnering the support of the […]
Cricket leagues
When’s the best time for junior cricket? (Not Sundays any more)
PORING over old copies of the Telegraph & Argus (Bradford’s daily paper) and the York Evening Press a few years ago made me realise how defined the football and cricket seasons used to be in the 20th Century. The football season finished in early April and the cricket season started a couple of weeks later, […]
Why the Leeds & Wetherby Cricket League is no more
The demise of a cricket league is always a moment to pause. There’s usually a lot of history and memories jumbled in with that reluctant decision to call time. Inevitably, there’s also reflection on whether another league gone is a sign of a wider shrinkage of club cricket and what the landscape will look like […]
Have Your Say: Cricket Yorkshire Reader Survey
Have you enjoyed reading Cricket Yorkshire? It’s been a strong year for the website in terms of numbers of visitors as well as the widest-ever coverage of clubs and leagues since we started in 2011. There have also been more competitions, offers and deals for readers to take advantage of. But we can always improve. […]
St Chad’s Broomfield Cricket Club: New Beginnings
One of Cricket Yorkshire’s most popular articles this year was on switching cricket leagues. Its inspiration was my local club, Bingley Congs, who have swapped the Craven Cricket League for the Aire-Wharfe Cricket League. What I didn’t know was that a club was voted out of the league to make space; namely St Chad’s Broomfield […]
The chess moves that come with switching cricket leagues
For this feature, I’ve talked to cricket clubs this season about switching leagues; something that happens every year. It’s a little like moving chess pieces around a board. Thinking several moves ahead, reacting to scenarios unfolding and a game of strategy behind the scenes. I remember talking to Ben Rhydding about swapping the Aire-Wharfe Cricket […]
Should First XIs be allowed to play Second XIs in club cricket?
Bill Marshall explores the conundrum of first XIs and second XIs Watching Hoylandswaine’s second team win the Solly Sports Crowther Cup in rapid time on Sunday at Sandal, defeating Farsley seconds by seven wickets, reminded me of a long-forgotten conversation I had with Matthew Anderson. He was then captain of East Bierley’s second team, and […]
Aire-Wharfe Cricket: Beckwithshaw vs Bolton Villas
Visiting Beckwithshaw Cricket Club has been on my radar for years. Those of us who hop around cricket club grounds tend to rub shoulders and recommendations get passed on. On a scorching Saturday, it was time to put that right with their Second Eleven at home to Bolton Villas in Inter-Division 5-6 of the Aire-Wharfe […]
Half Way in 2022: Yorkshire League Cricket RoundUp
Heading into the second half of 2022, the standings in Yorkshire’s club cricket leagues are starting to indicate who the season’s winners and losers might be. Let’s start at the top of the pyramid, with the four ECB Premier League, Premier Divisions. In the Bradford Premier League, New Farnley, Priestley Cup winners last year and […]
Craven Cricket League: Time to shake things up?
Bill Marshall talks to Craven League secretary, Peter Foster, about the challenge of losing clubs and the committee’s plans to give the league a new lease of life. Just how does a grassroots cricket league stop the haemorrhaging of clubs from within their membership? Of course, some leagues react too late to the bleeding, while […]