Where better than the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation Museum to learn about the future direction of the cricketing heritage of the county? After a group of primary schoolchildren have been shown around by Mel Reuben, one of the charity’s Tour Guides, quiet descends and I sit down with Paul Goodman,
If it was up to me, I would stream the Yorkshire Cricket Board Outstanding Service to Cricket Awards (OSCAs) ceremony live and make it compulsory viewing for those that portray grassroots cricket in a negative light. For a couple of hours, ahead of David Willey’s whirlwind hundred and Yorkshire’
Crunching along the gravel path at Bradford Park Avenue’s cricket ground off Canterbury Avenue took me to the newly installed eight-lane, non-turf cricket nets. Walls of chipboard and construction detritus highlight that this ambitious £5.5m project to transform a much-loved former county cricket venue into
Picture the scene. It’s Saturday morning and the prospect of cricket puts a spring in your step. Your fixture at Upper Cragdale 3rd XI is looming and you gingerly prize open your dormant kitbag that reveals muddy, stale whites, several entirely new forms of bacteria and other treasures. Sound
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-
Harold “Dickie” Bird, he of the iconic white umpire’s cap and mischievous humour wrapped in a broad Barnsley accent, has had many honours bestowed over the years from MBE and OBE to Yorkshire County Cricket Club President. The latest focus on the charismatic octagenarian sees an exhibition entitled ‘Dickie
While not my final destination, the 9.54 Sunday service through to Knaresborough was swelled with Yorkshire fans off to watch their heroes against Surrey in the cup semi at Headingley. As we all gathered waiting for permission to board, a man caught my eye for his commendable T-shirt
I had wandered down to my cricket club on Sunday to watch the seconds do a decent job of keeping the opposition under wraps en route to the cup final. It was sappingly humid and the rain fell at stages but that didn’t stop folk supporting their club and
The forecast bleakly predicted rain. Siling it down, as they say here in Yorkshire. The graphic on my smartphone was prophesising a light soaking building to the kind of downpour where you anxiously seek higher ground. Sunday’s Theakston Nidderdale Cricket League Ingilby Shield fixture - pitting a League Representative XI
The train from Sheffield to Dore and Totley bounced along the track as we huffed and puffed along the Hope Valley line. It’s only a short walk from the railway station to Abbeydale Sports Club, with the path leading uphill past the shock pink and blue hockey astroturf and
Everyday we all get bombarded with marketing messages. Do this. Buy this. Think this. The trouble with that, apart from being relentless and exhausting, is that you can miss the outstanding deals when they come along. Yorkshire County Cricket Club are offering club cricketers from across the county the chance
The two-carriage industrial tinbox destined for Harrogate is popular this particular Sunday morning at Leeds station. Little wonder as it’s the third day of the Investec Test match at Headingley between England and New Zealand. Clusters of cricket fans loiter at each of the entrances to the train,
When you picture a cricket pitch, what comes to mind? Is it an immaculate grass surface full of runs that does a bit for the bowler? How you answer might well depend on your particular skillset. As a league bowler of ever diminishing pace down the years, a green top
In a corner of Northamptonshire, a cricket revolution of sorts is flourishing. Cricket Deal Direct, run by Ian Anderson, is the vehicle behind Indian brand, SM, which is quietly getting a thumbs-up from more and more UK cricketers. Household Indian cricketing names seemingly deal in initials. From SS to
Our interview with Carl Marsden, owner of new Pocklington-based bat brand, Raven Cricket, took place some time back in a Leeds café. Launching a new company, as I know myself, is a tough ask and the inspiration for diving into the world of batmaking was one I was keen
With the advent of March, the outdoor cricket season begins to feel tantalizingly close but for thousands across the UK, indoor cricket remains a popular route to weather-proof practice and a chance to hone technique. At Headingley for the Cricket Club Expo event recently, a new cricket surface, the
