The search for Saturday’s venue started earlier in the week than has been the norm throughout the start of 2024, as the weather has been remarkably well behaved. The ongoing A59 road closures meant that cricket clubs heading over towards Skipton and beyond will be considered later on in
Saturday arrived and I had decided to make the relatively short trip to Whixley, a small village halfway between York and Harrogate, just off the A59. Whixley has a great pub, The Anchor, and if you happen to be passing at any point, I can wholeheartedly recommend the carvery they
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
It is always good to visit a cricket club then learn about encouraging developments. Very much the case when a Thursday found me at Thornton-le-Moor Cricket Club, to watch a game against Ingleby Cross in the tiny Northallerton & District Evening League. With just seven members (the others
The North Yorkshire & South Durham Premier League appears to have more cup competitions than you can shake a stick at. Spectators are spoilt for choice! Always keen to try something new, in this case the Ken Welsh Cup, I had a drive up the A19 to Teesside, an old
A season or two ago, whilst exchanging emails with a very helpful Pontefract & District League secretary, I asked if he could recommend any particularly attractive and/or interesting cricket grounds in his competition. Hundhill Hall Cricket Club’s ground, off Sandygate Lane, in the farming village of East Hardwick,
In the past two weeks, my concerns with how much rain is going to fall each day and how I’m going to dry my waterproofs for the next pitch-side visit have abated. Being honest, after around seven months of atrocious weather, I am still leaving it late in
In a roundabout way, I can thank Bradford’s inner-city development for discovering the delights of Crakehall Cricket Club. An expectation of traffic congestion meant that Woodlands of the Bradford Premier League would have to wait. Instead, something very different indeed. A 100-mile round trip to Crakehall, a
In common with every other cricket enthusiast, I found April a frustrating month, as rain, rain then a bit more rain dashed my spectating plans. So, the early May arrival of long overdue sunshine and warmth saw me scrambling to find a midweek fixture belatedly to get my 2024 season
Hard up against the southwest corner of Shiregreen Cricket Club’s compact ground are unmissable signs, mounted high on a wall, advertising an adjacent fireworks shop. Unfortunately, at least for Shiregreen, the only sparklers on display, when I made my first visit to the 2024 Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League
Keith Boyce, Head Groundsman at New Rover Cricket Club since 1999, knows a thing or two about cricket pitches. The former groundsman at Yorkshire County Cricket Club for 30 years (below right) is talking about plotting safe passage across a boggy outfield to get the heavy equipment on: “It’s
“Village cricket is dying” is a common soundbite but there are reasons for cheer, if you seek them out. North Cave is a village in East Yorkshire, separated from the River Humber as it makes its way inland by the M62. Cricket returns to the village in 2024 as it
In something of a repeat of last year, the wet weather has played havoc with pitch makers who face the usual race to be ready for April fixtures. In 2023, my article on Yorkshire’s leagues postponing fixtures caught the attention, on account of the fact that we'd
A merger that sees the formation of Warley & Elland Cricket Club has kept cricket alive at a historic ground in West Yorkshire. Warley CC, of the ENCO Halifax Cricket League, have joined forces with Elland Cricket Club; the latter resigned from the Huddersfield Cricket League towards the end of
There is a world of cricket matches going on across Yorkshire that don’t compete in leagues and finding out who and where they play is to dip into the role of the detective. Welcome to the underworld of cricket friendlies. Have a read of this past adventure... Back at
In this content collaboration with Total Play, we report on a brand-new product that has been installed at Bradford Park Avenue. The community cricket ground, off Canterbury Avenue, is a popular venue that is used by thousands of Bradfordians every year. The site previously offered state-of-the-art
