Mike Sansbury is General Manager of The Grove Bookshop in Ilkley and my latest guest on the Cricket Yorkshire Podcast. Half an hour whistles by as he discusses the importance of independent bookshops, some of his favourite cricket books and playing the game over the years. If you like books, cricket, browsing bookshops, hearing about […]
Cricket Interviews
Record-breaker: Meet the Bradford League lead run-scorer of all-time
Richard Gould is now the Bradford League’s all-time top run-scorer after nudging past Richard Robinson’s tally of 17,476 runs. Batting for over 25 years of Bradford League cricket (that’s 500+ matches), Gould has played for Salts, Farsley, East Bierley, Gomersal, Keighley and now Northowram Fields. His cricket journey started as an eight-year-old at Thackley Cricket […]
Bradford League: Misfits, house martins and curly fries at Wagon Lane
It’s funny how you can re-visit something familiar with fresh eyes and see it in an entirely different light. On Saturday, I opted to visit the closest club to Cricket Yorkshire HQ and headed to Wagon Lane; home to Bradford & Bingley Cricket Club. I do dip in from time to time but despite its […]
Hamzah Hussain: The architect behind Cricket Arena
Hamzah Hussain blinks at me studiously from behind a pair of dark-rimmed glasses before beginning to share how the game of cricket inspired him. It is an interview I’ve been excited about for ages. Hamzah is the architect (literally as it turns out) behind Cricket Arena, a community interest company that organises cricket tournaments in […]
Cullingworth: Meet the club offering completely free cricket for 2024
Cricket clubs do all sorts of ingenious things to attract new members and keep the ones they have. Cullingworth have done something pretty radical: Free cricket. No membership fees. No match fees. Plus, you get a playing and training kit. Oh, and free home cricket teas too! It’s an extraordinary thing to do and I […]
Middle, please ump: Becoming a Premier League umpire
Ever thought you might like to try a season out in the middle with the white coat? Mike Linwood shares his journey in umpiring Yorkshire’s Premier Leagues and how he became an ECB Tutor supporting umpire education. How did you get into umpiring and how have you progressed since?Like many, I started umpiring while playing. […]
Straight Drive to Survive: Vinesh’s Story
Vinesh Patel is this year’s Cricket Innovator Award winner at the YCB’s Cricket Collective Awards. They celebrate the efforts of volunteers across the grassroots game and are organised by the Yorkshire Cricket Board, in partnership with Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation. Vinesh or ‘Vinnie’ as he’s known, has done something pretty […]
Alan Igglesden: Remembering Iggy
Former Kent & England bowler Alan Igglesden, affectionately known as Iggy, died on 1 November 2021, aged 57, after a long battle with brain cancer. I first met Iggy for an article in The Cricketer Magazine; the original interview (read below) came about through a combination of Twitter and the offer of ginger cake. I […]
Kiran Bali: Breaking barriers and encouraging change
It becomes apparent minutes into our conversation that Kiran Bali’s professional and personal journey has been about breaking barriers but also advocating change. The magistrate and community volunteer, who won an MBE in 2008 for her community work in West Yorkshire, has taken those beliefs and brought them into grassroots cricket in Huddersfield. Kiran’s connection […]
Thackley Cricket Club and Andy’s Man Club: It’s Ok to Talk
On my daily travels online exploring Yorkshire club cricket, I’ve noticed the growing support for charities doing incredibly important work around mental health and suicide prevention. Charities such as Opening Up Cricket, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and Andy’s Man Club offer specialist help but also vital messaging such the #Itsoktotalk campaign. Here on Cricket […]