Sunday got off to an inauspicious start. I made a grumbling noise of disapproval, like a wave crashing onto a beach, at the cost of a rail ticket to Church Fenton to watch Wetherby Wrinklies take on Bolton Villas in the over 50s competition, the Grey Fox Trophy. Ow much?
You can see the humongous chimneys of Eggborough Power Station for miles before you actually turn into the main entrance. In a cluttered vista of power lines and industry, they stand as monumental guardians. This is Yorkshire’s power station square mile (not literally but they’re close enough) with
Sat on a sofa in Huddersfield’s Cafe Society a few streets from St. George’s Square, the prospect of watching the earliest league cricket in Yorkshire, if not the country, was the reason I was grinning like a buffoon. The theme to the Austin Powers film bounced off the
As the frost crackles the leaves and we all cross our fingers against winter floods, spare a thought for the groundsmen around the country safeguarding sporting facilities from the elements. Based in Northampton, the company total-play has been working with those professional and amateur groundsmen, designing and installing top-
Sicklinghall Cricket Club is reeling with shock after a fire, believed to have started before midnight last Saturday, has completely destroyed all of their buildings. Absolutely nothing is left. The clubhouse, scorebox and equipment shed along with memorabilia and machinery are all gone with North Yorkshire Police and Fire Services
Our Saturday of exploring cricket in Sheffield actually began outside the city with a dip into Sheffield & Phoenix United Cricket Club in Brinsworth, south of Rotherham. It was a local derby at Bawtry Road where Sheffield Collegiate’s first eleven were the visitors and as we climbed out of
When we pulled into the car park at the back of the Toby Carvery on Sheffield’s Ecclesall Road South, it was with something of a heavy heart as it looked like there was movement with Parkhead Cricket Club’s ground covers going on. The reality of Saturday’s weather
Finding Hull Cricket Club’s ground on Chanterlands Avenue North proved our first test for this Saturday morning. Brian, who some of you will know if you’ve read All Wickets Great and Small , is nothing if not old school. So no maps, not paper nor one filled with computer
**UPDATE - NOVEMBER 2017** I'm delighted my cricket book, All Wickets Great and Small, has been so generously reviewed and supported. Thanks to everyone who has bought a copy and all those who took the time to get in touch to offer their feedback, favourite chapter or cricket ground.
A few weekends back, Brian from the Cricket Heritage blog , offered his set of wheels and a pottering journey around Yorkshire league cricket grounds North of Leeds. The opportunity to ditch the camera in favour of just a smartphone (photos below) and the bus and rail timetables is a real
Today’s adventure to the village of Glasshouses is a shunt north along the A59, dipping in and out of Nidderdale communities on the number 24 bus heading for Pateley Bridge. It’s pleasantly warm; sunshine peeks from behind candyfloss clouds to light up the Yorkshire countryside and the bus
View image | gettyimages.com Picture the scene - it's 1992 and Yorkshire County Cricket Club have finally decided to abandon their rule which allowed them to only select players born in Yorkshire. They were in the market for - whisper it quietly - an overseas player. "By 'eck...'
If there’s one thing guaranteed in Yorkshire, it’s that you’ll find superb amateur cricket stories round every corner. In this case, the Retreat is a specialist mental health provider whose sprawling complex of buildings are on Heslington Road in York. The Retreat Cricket Club plays within the
Northern Rail’s wheezing bone-rattler from Leeds unceremoniously deposits me at Castleford station; a bleak cul-de-sac with a car park and The Station pub that straddles the corner between Welbeck Street and Enterprise Way. Castleford Cricket Club, today’s destination of choice, play at Savile Park which
