The ECB National Club Championship is back – and with it comes the prospect of Yorkshire’s cricket clubs showing what they’re made of against the best in the country. The Royal London Club Championship (current sponsor) is 40-overs knockout cricket with a Lord’s final inked in for Saturday 9th September 2023. Here, I’ll share some […]
Yorkshire Premier League North
Birds of prey, boundaries and beeping phones: Cricket is back
Perhaps inevitably, having no firm plan to see any cricket meant I ended up catching two games in the first full weekend of league action. Saturday was a drive over to Knaresborough; the A658 offering ample opportunity (if you’re not driving) to spot red kites circling. One flew low, perhaps 20 feet above our car, […]
Malton & Old Malton: Ready for the top of Yorkshire’s pyramid
Shaun Harland “can’t wait” to captain Malton & Old Malton Cricket Club’s first team this season as they make their ECB Premier League, Premier Division debut. Shaun’s entire cricketing life, from under-nines to the age of 24, has been spent with Malton & Old Malton, who in 2022 secured promotion, as runners-up to champions Stamford […]
Harrogate Cricket Club: The next chapter
I wrote an article not so long ago about Glasshouses Cricket Club and their very real struggles to stay afloat for another season. One of the comments came from George Owram, joint chair at Harrogate Cricket Club, who shared his thoughts on loaning out juniors to Glasshouses, Pateley Bridge and others. It got the grey […]
Kevin Watson: Wrenthorpe glory and captaining Yorkshire Over 60s
Did you know that Yorkshire’s pedigree extends to the older age brackets in the County Championship too? We caught up with Yorkshire Over 60s captain Kevin Watson to discuss his club cricket background, captaincy approach and ambitions for this season. Kevin began cricket as a junior at East Ardsley Cricket Club, back in the mid-1970s, […]
Grace Hall: Chance to Shine to Northern Diamonds Academy
Grace Hall’s path to representing the Northern Diamonds Academy began with a chance encounter at school. It speaks to how cricket can captivate us at an early age if we get the chance. Grace’s story, just like Mollie Ovenden, is of a young woman whose appetite for the game and seeking out opportunities has propelled […]
Filey aim high for Yorkshire Premier League North debut
Captain David Brannan Jnr believes Filey Cricket Club’s first team can make an immediate impact in the Yorkshire Premier League North, their new home. During the 2023 season, having left the Scarborough Beckett Cricket League this winter, Filey will contest Division Two (Holderness), the YPLN’s fourth tier. The opposition comprises the first teams of Hessle, […]
Thirsk: Watching club cricket inside a racecourse
The sports ground ‘collector’ is always on the lookout for something different. Playing inside a racecourse circuit – as do Thirsk Cricket Club – counts as unusual. Not unique, though, in my experience. Two decades ago, I watched Racing Club Warwick in a Southern Football League match at a ground enclosed by the town’s racecourse. […]
Sutton-on-Hull Cricket Club throw 150th birthday party at Netherhall
Birthday parties are fun – and the one I attended at Sutton-on-Hull Cricket Club was no exception. Sutton, founded in 1872, mark their 150th anniversary this season. A high point of the celebrations was a visit, to the Netherhall ground, in Bransholme, by an MCC XI. The sun shone all day, the cricket was very […]
Around the Leagues: Title, promotion or relegation?
It is ‘do or die’ time for those eyeing championship glory or promotion, or seeking to avoid relegation, as Yorkshire’s 2022 club cricket season enters its final weeks. We start our review with the county’s four ECB-rated Premier Leagues. With two games to play, Woodlands (343pts) are on course to retain the Bradford Premier Cricket […]