The last time I saw Chris Marsden or ‘Spike’ as he’s known in Bradford Cricket League circles, was a visit in 2019 to their Tofts Road ground for their rain-affected game against Methley. It was for a feature in The Cricket Paper and a lot has happened for all of us since. I tend to […]
Cricket Interviews
Mollie Ovenden: From the Nidderdale Cricket League with Raskelf and Alne to Bengaluru
Though we’ve never met, Mollie Ovenden strikes me as a cricketer who doesn’t wait for opportunities to come her way but grabs them. She has represented Yorkshire in county age group cricket, captained a men’s league team (Raskelf) in her teens, and at just eight years old, won the Wensleydale Creamery’s Junior Voice of Cricket competition. […]
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 […]
How on earth do leagues find more umpires for next season?
NEWSPAPERS, who tend to have skeleton staffs these days due to drastically reduced income from just about all of their traditional financial streams (about the only growth area these days is from the internet), have taken to re-printing pages from days gone by. Some would say that was a benefit to older readers, despite the […]
Bradford Park Avenue: Our hybrid cricket pitches
It was a relentlessly hot day at Bradford Park Avenue cricket ground for Interlink versus Cookridge in the Dales Council Cricket League. For this content collaboration with SIS Pitches, I returned to the city of Bradford to learn how hybrid pitches are helping this famous cricket site. *** Once a neglected former county ground, Park […]
Cricket pitches: Can you water them during a hosepipe ban?
As of August 2022, parts of England are now in drought, according to the Environment Agency – but what does that mean for cricket clubs? Different parts of the country are seeing temporary water restrictions – and that includes from Yorkshire Water whose ban began on 26 August. The focus is on household water consumption […]
Andrew Watson: 45 years in Yorkshire Cricket
I first met Andrew Watson, the former Managing Director of the Yorkshire Cricket Board, at Headingley to talk about Cricket Yorkshire. He fizzed with ideas, had a myriad of names at his fingertips then sealed a lifetime friendship by buying me fish and chips at Stumps Restaurant. We catch up by phone a few months […]
Tian Koekemoer: Taking all ten wickets for Tickhill
History was made at Shaw Lane on Saturday as Tian Koekemoer became the first player to take all ten wickets in an innings (10-38) since the establishment of the Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League. Koekemoer, from Eastern Province in South Africa, had already contributed 40 with the bat before putting in a stunning bowling performance […]
Grassroots Cricket Awards celebrate volunteers across Yorkshire
The inaugural Grassroots Cricket Awards for Yorkshire took place at Headingley on 23 March to recognise all of those volunteers who contribute to recreational cricket in Yorkshire. This delayed and rebooted version of what used to be the ‘OSCAs’ is organised by the Yorkshire Cricket Board and there are new categories, with nine recipients chosen […]
Disability cricket takes off at Skipton Cricket Club
John Fuller talks to Ji Mukherjee of Skipton Cricket Club about coaching disability cricket and how he feels it has positively impacted the Skipton community. 1. How did your disability cricket coaching start and why did you choose that area to become involved in? I teach PE in several primary schools locally and was asked […]