The news that the Match Play Committee of the NYSD had decided to postpone the first weekend’s fixtures (20 & 21 April 2024) had a strange finality – and symmetry – to it.
Last year, the same league was fastest out of the blocks in reaching a decision early that others would follow in dribs and drabs.
This year, all four of Yorkshire’s Premier Leagues have now postponed their opening weekend for the second year running.
Others like the Aire-Wharfe Cricket League have done so too and I’d be astonished if all leagues in Yorkshire don’t soon come to the same conclusion. Of course, they might decide to share points instead to save some admin and heartache down the road.
Those postponing do it reluctantly because it causes a fixture logjam and is a right mess to sort out. This decision sends ripples across many other leagues.
It causes angst because clubs can’t always find a date to replay fixtures that weren’t originally played through no fault of their own.
In the Heavy Woollen Cup, the advice is to play on Sunday 21 April if you can or rearrange for a week later.
Failing that, the unpalatable prospect of a bowl-out or even a coin toss looms. Bad weather in the National Village Cup typically leads to quite a few ‘walkovers’ (particularly in North Yorkshire) where presumably sides can’t agree on a replay date and one team is forced to concede.
Not great. It’s the way it is but it undermines the integrity of a competition.
Bumping fixtures causes issues like having to play both Saturday and Sunday, potentially across a Bank Holiday. Unlikely to be popular.
This fixture snowball effect also leads to a straining of trust sometimes. It depends on the strength of sides put out and who you’re playing. Defending champions? Sorry, our ground’s not fit.
It prompts all kinds of questions that have raged on social media and in Facebook groups – and I’ve been following opinions and swirling conversations with a detached curiosity.
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Climate change
Let’s address the elephant in the room. (If Nelly was a bit soggy after many months of rain and mournfully yearning for club cricket.)
It is rare if not unprecedented for cricket leagues to blanket postpone their season start two years running.
We are all having more extreme weather events more often. A report from the Environment Agency revealed that “For Yorkshire as a whole, the prolonged wet weather resulted in the 8 months ending February 2024 being the wettest July to February period in a record length of over 150 years, based on the Met Office Had-UK data set.”
At what point do cricket leagues think about restructuring their fixtures, potentially playing less cricket or starting later and finishing in September or into October?
This is going to keep happening and our summer game will increasingly be affected. Time to act for 2025?
Do leagues start too early?
This prompts the obvious question as to whether club cricket in Yorkshire starts too early?
You could argue that we’ve had many rainy starts to a season before. I recall one depressing year in the last decade when the first month of my Craven League cricket season was washed out.
I don’t know if it’s historical, relating to the size of leagues or a source of pride but leagues in the North often start earlier than those in the South.
What would a May start achieve?
Delaying the season until the first or second week of May doesn’t mean it won’t rain – but it gives grounds a bit more chance to dry and get cut and rolled after Winter.
The ramifications for postponements are considerable; far beyond the nuts and bolts of not playing on a Saturday. As I said on Twitter, think about umpire and scorer availability, as well as whether grounds are free.
If you structure the season a bit later (yes, I would still be hunting for early-season friendlies), this doesn’t happen.
What's the best way to do things if the first league weekend is impacted by grounds not being ready due to months of rain?
— Cricket Yorkshire (@cricketyorks) April 5, 2024
Vote below and leave a comment if you like. 👍
CY Article: https://t.co/Oj5hdL66Kc
Pros and cons of finishing later
In Yorkshire, I would tentatively say that the weather has been milder and drier in October than April over the last decade. No guarantees of course.
A better chance to finish the business end of the season where results on the pitch rather than how wet it’s been deciding league standings, promotion and relegation.
Yes, it can still rain but pitches should be in a better state than right at the beginning. The fact that this season some postponed fixtures are scheduled for the end of the summer proves the point to an extent.
There is no beautifully choreographed solution here because while some leagues currently finish by early or mid September, other go on a few weeks more.
Some clubs are multi-sport where cricket and football share facilities so a later finish cuts into the autumn start of another sport.
In Premier Leagues, there is the White Rose Trophy with semi-finals and finals to find the top club in Yorkshire. This extra fortnight would end up being into October.
Also, a lot of overseas players typically go back home as soon as the UK season concludes (often to play in other countries). So, Premier Leagues would miss their star signings for crucial games.
Smaller divisions?
One suggestion readers have put forward is smaller divisions. That creates a tighter season that fits into a smaller window.
It could work for some leagues and not others. It’s easier to say but would require a massive amount of work to organise fairly across divisions.
The photo above is of the Arthington Festival that’s been played into October for many years. Food for thought perhaps.
One thing is for certain.
Frustrating as this is, club cricket being postponed because of wet grounds will keep happening. So, is now the time for something more radical?
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With a definite climate change already happening maybe it is time to look at other ‘start of season’ options.
Years ago (45) it was approximately the same late April start but the climate has changed.
Maybe try an early May start with a mid/later September finish for the 2025 season?
Agree 100%. The facts don’t lie, and we should adapt to change the season from May to late Sept in Yorkshire.
I’m a groundsman for several clubs in the West Yorkshire area and playing into October is a no no for me personally. September is the month for doing end of season renovations for cricket squares while soil temperature is still relatively high. Much better chance of getting seed to germinate in September than October. Also the later you leave EoS, the less daylight there is, and a higher chance of rain, anyone who’s loamed up a square in wet weather will know what I’m talking about !