Driving through the gates of North Stainley Cricket Club on Saturday brought a real smile to my face. I can remember the first time I visited the club [many moons ago] and I loved the feel to the place. Set in the heart of a picture-postcard North Yorkshire village, the club simply oozes charm. I’ll […]
Opinion
Yorkshire’s clubs face national quarter-finals showdown
Cricket clubs from Yorkshire are gearing up for mouthwatering quarter-finals in national competitions over the next few weeks. New Farnley beat holders Ormskirk by 79 runs to claim a quarter-final spot in the Rothesay National Club Championship. On Sunday 12 July, their imposing total of 313-5 off 40 overs was underpinned by Ryan McKendry’s 77 […]
West Yorkshire women’s softball: Pink balls, power and pooches
The West Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League Softball Finals Day promised fast-paced fixtures for ten clubs across three pitches – spoiler alert – it did not disappoint. Pink balls were launched up, up and away on a breezy Sunday at Bradford & Bingley’s Wagon Lane ground. Non-stop, blink-and-you-miss-it action, an inflatable pub, cute dogs, […]
Horsforth Hall Park: Kites and Collingham Cup win
Horsforth Hall Park Cricket Club has been on the radar for years – and last Sunday’s Waddilove Cup quarter-final against Collingham & Linton is when planets aligned perfectly. The prospect of cup cricket in the park – with a bonus of free parking on Fink Hill as it turned out – gave a spring in […]
Arthington stage scintillating run chase to down Darley
I’ve got a list of grounds that I’ve been to over the last 15 years, a series of Excel worksheets that show clubs that I’ve visited, teams that I’ve covered, and where I have been rather diligent in my recordkeeping…dates. As part of my planning for the second half of the 2026 summer season, I […]
Grassroots cricket is hot – but is it bothered?
The latest UK heatwave is a not-so-subtle reminder that extreme temperatures are here to stay. They are not a freak outlier nor anything we should be surprised about – and yet, I tend to react with incredulity every time the mercury dips above 30°C. At least it’s been cooler in Yorkshire than the South coast […]
Sizzling summer solstice as Yapham host Beverley Town
The Longest Day. Sounds like a good title for a movie…oh wait, it was! A glance at the fixtures list over breakfast suggested a busy Sunday across Yorkshire. A second glance, after a succession of cancellations filtered through social media and club channels, painted a different picture. Two of the games I had planned as […]
Eggborough Power Station CC: The Eagles have landed
Going to Eggborough Power Station Cricket Club to check out their new ground offered a glimpse into the future and a reminder of the past. In 2017, I watched Eggborough’s evening league game against Carlton Towers when they had the power station’s cooling towers as the backdrop. Since then, the power station has been demolished […]
Killinghall take the points at windy Goldsborough
It was Bed Race day in Knaresborough, an annual event that sees up to 90 ‘beds’ being pushed nearly two and a half miles around a course that starts by the river. The route travels up around the steep roads by the castle and beds then descend through the town centre, back to the start…by […]
Bradford Park Avenue Ladies edge past Crossflatts at Windhill
Spoilt for choice on a Sunday that promised not to be chilly or wet for a change, I headed for women’s Premier League cricket in Shipley. Deposited on Platform 1 of the rail station, the lights opposite McDonalds were out so traffic had backed up into other postcodes. An electronic sign advertised ‘Clean Air Day’ […]