Saturday, 30 June 2012

RAIN AGAIN

By Brian Sanderson,

After bidding on Knight,s Auction on the internet, I set off to Pudsey Lawerence to see them play East Bierley.The match is in the Bradford League First Division.The ground is situated in Tofts Road and as you enter the ground by The Len Hutton gates in the distance is Pudsey Church were Major Booth  has two plaques.He was one of the three Yorkshire players who died inThe First World War.

East Bierley were batting with Gavin Hamilton who was a ex England and Yorkshire player.There had been a disputed catch which had been turn down  against Hamilton.before I arrived .He carried on to score 68 with 9 fours and 3 six,s.There was a hour delay because of rain which caused tea-time to be brought forward.Rennison carried on where Hamilton had finished also scoring 68 but not out.He scored 7 fours and 2 six,s. against good bowling from Marsden and Ashford.They bowled 30 overs for 80 runs and taking 3 wickets.

There was another shower of rain with four overs of the East Bierley innings to go and a number of people thought they should declare after the rain break which caused the match to loss six overs.However they carried on batting to score 251 for 6 in the 50 overs.

When Pudsey was batting Robertshaw ,one of Pudsey openers,was run out when he collided with the Bierley bowler causing him to be short of the crease.Another disputed call which caused dicussion in the crowd and Robertshaw swearing go off the ground.Hester,the number three batsman , was then given out L.B.W causing him to start crashing doors in the pavilion.

Some more rain came to abandon the match which had caused discussion points during the match.The rain won again and let us hope to-morrow will be a better day.

Brian Cobb mentioned that I had not put the venues for the M.C.C matches on Friday blog.They one I missed was 2 July M.C.C Universities play Durham at theRacecourse ground.Sorry about the error.

Friday, 29 June 2012

FIXTURES FOR JULY

By Brian Sanderson,

I enclose some fixtures for July which may help Brian Cobb decided were he goes.

July 1 PRIESTLEY CUP   LIGHTCLIFFE  V MANNINGHAM MILLS

         HANGING HEATON  V  GOLCAR
        DELPH                          V WRENTHORPE
        SPEN                             V  SHEPLEY
        METHLEY                     V   TOWNVILLE
  
YORKSHIRE UNDER 15    V  CHESHIRE        CASTLEFORD.

July 2    DENBY    DERBY SECONDS   V  YORSHIRE

          M.C.C      V   DURHAM

         YORKSHIRE UNDER14  V     CLEVELAND    SHERIFF HUTTON  BRIDGE

July 3   DENBY   DERBY SECONDS  V   YORKSHIRE     3 DAYS


July 5  YORKSHIRE OVER 60   V 2 COUNTIES    BOLTON ABBEY

           40 CLUB      V   ST.PETERS      CASTLEFORD.

JULY 7  BECKITT LEAGUE

July 8  CHESHIRE  V  DORSET  ALDERLEY EDGE        3 DAYS
           LINCOLNSHIRE   V    NORFOLK  CLEETHORPES   3DAYS

          SWINTON PARK  V   ROMANY

         M.C.C  V  CHATSWORTH HOUSE

July 9  ST.PETERS WEEK
               ST.PETERS   V  LINCOLNSHIRE

          HIGH FARNDALE  V   SLINGSBY

July 10  M.C.C   V  SOUTH CRAVEN      KEIGHLEY
    
         DERBY SECONDS   V    LEICESTER      DERBY

   ST.PETERS   V   NORTHUMBERLAND

   YORSHIRE UNDER 15  V  DUURHAM   RICHMOND  TWO DAYS.

July 11  NOTTS  V   M.C.C UNIV   LADY BAY   3DAYS

             YORKSHIRE OVER 50   V   NORTHUMBERLAND   STUDLEY ROYAL
           ST.PETERS   V   LANCASHIRE

YORSHIRE UNDER 14   V   DURHAM   HARROGATE

July 12  ST.PETERS   V   M.C.C

YORKSHIRE U 15 B   V   CLEVELAND  STUDLEY ROYAL

July 13  ST.PETERS   V  DURHAM

July 14   LANGBAUGH LEAGUE

July 15   DERBY  V  UNICORNS   CHESTERFIELD

July 16   NOTTINGHAM  SECONDS  V  YORKSHIRE   WORKSOP COLLEGE

July 17  NOTTINGHAM SECONDS  V  YORKSHIRE  LADY BAY  THREE DAYS

           LANCASHIRE SECONDS  V   DERBY    WEST  HOUGHTON

           YORKSHIRE UNDER 17   V   LANCASHIRE   HEADINGLEY TWO DAYS

July 18   LANCASHIRE SECONDS  V  DERBY   SOUTHPORT   3DAYS

       YORK @DISTRICT   V  M.C.C   SCARBOROUGH

July 19  YORSHIRE UNDER 17  V  LANCASHIRE   WEETWOOD

July 23    YORSHIRE UNDER 15   V  LANCASHIRE  MASHAM 2DAYS

July 24   M.C.C  V  SHEFFIELD COLLEGIATES    ABBEY DALE

July 25   LANCASHIRE SECONDS  V  M.C.C UNIVERSITIES  BLACKPOOL

July 26  YORKSHIRE UNDER 19  V  STAFFORDSHIRE  ROTHERHAM

There are many other fixtures but these are a few but all subject to rain and movement.So check before going .Enjoy your cricket.





Wednesday, 27 June 2012

SUNNY SHAW LANE.

By Brian Sanderson,

The weather was sunny when we arrived with Worcestershire batting.There was another good  crowd including Peter France another tick on his card to become P.C.W.Brian Cox also arrived  after his trip to Weetwood yesterday.

Rashid bowled fifteen overs for no wickets and then left the match to go to Leicester to the first team.Matthew Pardoe  batted through the innings to score 156 not out.Randhawa was the best bowler who took five for 32. Another left-arm spinner for Yorkshire.At lunch there was a heavy shower but the sun returned and Yorkshire took the final wicket.

Sayers and Lees opened the innings but with little effect. Richardson bowling figures were excellent. 13-8-7-1.Another good bowler was Shaaiq Choudhry who  played for Leeds  and Bradford University.He took 4 for 29 but the Yorkshire batting was poor.Rhodes was 30 not out at the end of the evening.

Weather may save Yorkshire to-morrow.

EXCITING MATCH AT WEETWOOD

By Brian Sanderson,

On Tuesday I went to Weetwood to see the Yorkshire Academy.On the Yorkshire web-site  they  stated that South Africa Under19 were played however this was incorrect.The team who were playing was Centurion High School who were from South Africa  and had beaten Durham Academy yesterday.

Tony Hutton was their after his trip to  watch Cumberland at Furniss.The first day was washed out but Cumberland had bowled Lincolnshire for 90 before lunch on the second day..Also there was Jerry ,the Middlesex supporter wearing his pink shirt. The weather was sunny but was a strong cross breeze.

The Academy was captained by Oliver Hannon-Dalby which started the question when was the last double barreled name person who captain Yorkshire.Yorkshire batted first and soon lost a wicket to  a run out.It was left to Tattersall and Hussan to put 85 in 26 overs.Yorkshire managed to reach 204 in fifty over which was good as Oliver was batting 6.The innings lasted about three hours twenty minutes which was too long.

South Africans started well and talked Africarn between themselves.The best Yorkshire bowler was Carl Karver from Sessey.He bowls left-arm spin with a excellent loop.I hope the coaches do not make him bowl flat and quick.His bowling figures were 3 for 27.We had to move to opposite to the pavilion as the breeze came cold.The South African wanted four from the last over with nine wickets down.Rain was falling making the ball wet for the spinners.They won the match with four balls spare.A match started slowly but came to a excellent climax.The best match so far this season.Yorkshire over 60 should have been playing at New Rover but  no players turned up.

Tuesday, 26 June 2012

A good day for Rashid

posted by John Winn

To Shaw Lane, Barnsley with Dave Masterman for the first day of the SET match between Yorks II and their Worcester counterparts. A warm sunny morning had brought out a respectable crowd with a number of pcws gathered on the pavilion side: the Huddersfield branch particularly well represented. 'Sun-drenched'  was probably putting it too strongly but it was certainly shirt sleeved weather. Two notable absentees were Messrs Hutton and Sanderson, thought to be at Weetwood watching the Academy playing South Africa A.

Yorkshire batted first with Lees and Sayers opening but the conversation out sparkled the cricket until Sayers cracked three fours square on the offside but he fell lbw to the impressive Russell. Sharing the new ball with Jones was Alan Richardson, one of Wisden's five players of the year on his way back from injury.  The afternoon was enlivened by the arrival of Brian Senior who amused us with tales of his recent holiday in the Isle of Man. Brian had only just been made aware of the game at Weetwood. How did you miss that Brian?

Fifties from Rashid and Leaning boosted Yorkshire to 179 for 5 when light rain became more persistent and Dave and I made our way back up the M1. No sooner had we got clear of Barnsley than the roads were dry and the action  at Shaw Lane had resumed to the extent that a further twelve wickets fell before the close and when I checked the close of play score on Total Cricket Scorer The Pears trailed  The Tykes by 115 with seven first innings wickets down. Rashid leads the way with three wickets to add to his attractive 53 with the bat.

An interesting second day has been set up, let's hope the weather allows a decent ration of play tomorrow. Thursday is not to be relied on.

Monday, 25 June 2012

Di Venuto wreaks havoc

At 10:30 this morning I phoned Brandon CC and was told without hesitation that the SET game between Durham II and Northants II would definitely start at 12 noon and so I drove the sixty miles to south west Durham arriving just after the scheduled start to find the players cavorting on the outfield but worryingly a group of four or five officials standing by the wicket and looking glum, in the way that people selected for that kind of task do so well.

Steve Harmison brought the news to the pavilion that 'they' would look again at one o'clock at which point I began to fear the worst. There was, apparently, a problem with the bowlers' take off points but to the credit of the host club a man with an industrial strength hairdryer set to work and after half an hour of 'dry hard two' it was announced that a 25 over match would begin at 2:15.

In the meantime I had bumped into my friend Ray Parker, who although he is based in South Wales, is a not  infrequent visitor to the north east and for this week he is staying with his son who lives near Northallerton.Ray is a devotee of Minor Counties, Second Eleven and club cricket and we were happy to wile away the time before the rearranged start, mainly discussing how much cricket we had not watched, rather than watched,  this season.

Durham had put out a side with three former test players, Di Venuto, Harmison and Blackwell, assisted by regular first teamers Stoneman and Thorpe. Northants won the toss and put Durham in and Di Venuto feasted on the visitors' attack to the tune of 156 not out off 80 balls including numerous sixes. assisted mainly by Jennings and Richardson.  Durham raced to 238 for 4, a total always likely to be too high for Northants whose cause was not helped by the loss of early wickets. From 70 for 7 they rallied to 128 for 7 at the end of their 25 overs, but still over 100 short. Leading wicket taker for Durham was Coughlin with three. Tomorrow sees the start of a three day SET game between the two teams at the same well appointed ground.

The National KO Cup managed to complete all but three of yesterday's fixtures and here as promised is the draw for the last sixteen stage. You will note that, sensibly, the competition is regionalised rather than nationalised.

Chorley v Cuckney

York or Blaydon v West Indian Cavaliers or Ockbrook and Borrowash

South Wilts v Bridgewater

Neston v Kidderminster Victoria

Bamford Fieldhouse v Ormskirk

Brentwood v Barnt Green

Spencer or Havant v Teddington

Tunbridge Wells v Wanstaed and Snaresbrook

 Tomorrow to Shaw Lane, Barnsley for Yorks II v Worcs II, always an enjoyable day out.

AT LAST A YORKSHIRE SECOND TEAM MATCH

By Brian Sanderson,

To-day was a chance to go to Pudsey Congs ground to watch Yorkshire Seconds against Worcestershire  in a Trophy 50 overs match.There had been a lot of rain in the area and Ralph Middlebrook together with other workers managed to get the match started.It could not get started until  1.00 instead of 12.00 which reduced the overs to 34. However we much thank them all for all their work.

I sat next to Peter France who  wants to join the  P.C.W. group has he had been to three grounds on Saturday trying to see a cricket match.Worcester batted first with Pattinson and  Wardlaw opening the bowling who had both played Championship cricket.Also first teamers was Sayers, Lyth and Rashid. On the Worcestershire  side was Brett D,Oliveira was playing who is the grandson of Basil.
Yorkshire bowling was poor and Worcestershire scored 224 in the 34 overs which should be too much for Yorkshire.

There were no scorecards at the start of the match but arrived late .There was only 40 provided and I sold them within ten minutes as there was a good crowd.The Yorkshire openers were Sayers and Lyth  who could not keep up with the run rate.The best batsman was Alex Lees who scored 49 who was the captain to-day.Yorkshire scored just over 200 for 9 .

The weather was warm and this is the first Yorkshire match since 22 May at York that  seems a long time ago.I did win the raffle  and won a tin of biscuits.
Sunday 27 May

Posted by Peter Davies

A wonderful tour of the Calder Valley: Booth, SBCI and Copley. Serene at Booth and lots of great club photos in the pavilion; we met local cricketer and website designer Alex Kaye at SBCI; and we really enjoyed the new pavilion at Copley!

Sunday, 24 June 2012

a little bit better

posted by John Winn

Driving through Great Ouseburn shortly after noon yesterday I called at the Lightmire Lane ground to find the ground staff just removing the covers and was told that if there were no more rain then that afternoon's game for the second eleven against West Tanfield would go ahead. At precisely that moment a squally shower materialised but it lasted only a few minutes and when I returned after lunch, Ouseburn were batting and had made a good start with skipper Mark Kinghorn again leading the way in his typical aggressive fashion. He received good support from Ed Barnes until he(Kinghorn)  played on for 34. This proved to be the highest score of the innings but despite two run outs enough batsmen chipped in for the home team, who prior to this match were bottom of the league, to reach 184 for 8 off 40 overs, five overs having been lost to rain.

West Tanfield got off to a bad start being at one point 22 for 5 but a fifth wicket stand of 82 brought about a recovery with Andy Ganderton getting 62 and veteran Tony Clark, 41 not out. Clark had bowled his very slow enticing spinners effectively to take 2 for 26 off 12 overs but if there had been a man of the match award it would probably have gone to Barnes who added to his 32 with the bat with 3 wickets for 16 off 11 overs. West Tanfield finished 50 short to take one point to Ouseburn's 5. With West Tanfield near the top of the table this was a good win for relegation threatened Ouseburn.

Slightly more games in The Nidderdale League were completed than last week and as last Saturday one of those to survive was at Alne. My original plan for today had been to go to York to see their group final game in the National KO Cup but for the second week running this was postponed and instead I made the short journey 'over the water' to the 'island in the stream' that is Alne, where the neat little ground was in excellent condition. The match here was a quarter final in the Atkinson/ Swires Cup, a competition for the first division plus the four top clubs from division two in The Nidderdale League. There opponents today were Burton Leonard who were somewhat understrength and had several juniors in their ranks.

The Alne ground is tucked away up a lane leading to a farm and to make maximum use of its small playing area the boundary and the fence are almost contiguous. There is a splendid pavilion built in the mid nineties with an electronic scoreboard above it. The afternoon was sunny with a good drying breeze and at times it was pleasantly warm. I pitched camp in front of the pavilion and watched the Burton Leonard innings. They made 179 off their 40 overs and the feeling amongst their supporters was that this was at least 20 short of a defendable total. So it proved for Alne got off to a flier and reached just short of 60 off the first 8 overs. From this point the result was never in doubt as Alne progressed to the semi final with a six wicket victory and seven overs to spare. Star man with the bat was opener Chris Beaumont who, despite an injury which necessitated a runner, hit powerfully to make 67. Four byes brought up the winning runs, bringing extras to 17.
Alne's opponents in the semi final will be Pannal or Blubberhouses whose game could not be played today. In the  other surviving quarter final Masham beat Spofforth.

As I drove home via the Aldwark Toll Bridge there was flood water in the fields bordering The River Ure but I felt content that I had managed to see cricket on successive days and that this afternoon in particular had been how cricket at the end of June should be. With a decent forecast there is a promise of more to come, but we've been here before this summer and the heavy rain which washed out Yorkshire's game at Scarborough is a reminder of just how unpredictable this weather can be.
Sat 23 June

A wet day. We journeyed to Blackley and Elland but nothing doing. Very wet indeed.
Sat 9 June

A cricket heritage event at the Tolson Museum, Huddersfield - but no punters in attendance. Oh well...!
Tues 5 June

Lord's again. This time I was wearing a tie so I got in the pavilion. Checked out a number of rooms in the pavilion. Very impressive. Bought some books and drank plenty of tea.
Saturday 2 June

A day out wandering around the cricket grounds of St. Helens. All very good. We did 8 or 9 and I fancy penning a booklet in due course. In the company of the new Professor Jack Williams - cricket academic.
Wed 30 May

A day out at Lord's: Middlesex v Somerset. A good day but rain in the air. Bought some books and checked out a posh hotel close by. £300 a night I hear!

Saturday, 23 June 2012

FIVE HOUR INNINGSB

By Brian Sanderson,

It had been raining all  Friday in the Leeds Area which caused numerous matches to be cancelled to-day.The Bradford League web-site had up to date infirmation which matches were cancelled.Only one match survived at that was Saltaire.So looking on the Cricket Scorer web-site I noticed that New Farnley were playing Birstall in Yorkshire Central Cricket League.The ground is only twenty minutes by car from by house so I set off knowing the match had started.

The ground has trees three quaters round the ground with houses filling in the gap.The field is ge with a football pitch opposite to the pavilion.You can park your car next to the pitch and watch the match in comfort.However I decided to sit in the sunshine watching New Farnley bat who had scored fifty for no wicket as I arrived.The pitch was in good condition considering all the rain that had fallen.

However about after an hour a heavy rainshower came down causing the match to stop and the covers brought on.I retreated to my car  and listern to B.B.C 4 play on the radio. The teams were off for about two hours and they took tea. At that time Farnley had only lost one wicket however soon after the break the opener was out L.B.W and took ages to walk to the pavilion pointing to his bat.I wish the players would not do that and accept the umpires decision.

Farnley took the full fifty overs  and finished the innings just after six o,clock which was over five hours in lenght.Near the end  Birstall fielder called Goodan caght a brillant one handed catch on the boundary edge.The quote from one of the Birstall fielders was that it was the best catch he had seen in league cricket in over thirty years.He had also taken another catch and run out two batsmen.Brillant work.New Farnley scored 189 for 8 as I left for tea and the blog.

Friday, 22 June 2012

WILLIAM HARRIS

By Brian Sanderson,

When it is raining it gives you a chance to read your outstanding magazines.I am a member of the Cricket Memorabilia Society and in the latest there is article on William Harris.Keith Hayhurst purchased a coloured card  of the cricketer who played for Armley and Yorshire.

Looking at the Leeds Library website I traced articles on Armley Cricket Club who Harris was the professional in 1886 and 1887.In article in The Leeds Mercury dated 25 May 1887 there is article about the establishment of the club.

Armley Club was established in 1856.For the last fourteen and fifteen years they has played are the lending clubs in Leeds @ district with a fair bit of success.Last year owing to the great increase of both playing @ honorary members, the Committee that it advisable to have a weekly man as professional.They engaged William Harris who played 4  matches foir Yorkshire.The principal fixtures for the season are the Lemmington.Clarandon, Holbeck, Hunslet, Hope Foundary, Morley, Lascelles Hall, York, Oldfield Lane, Leeds Albion and Castleford.

There are a number of the clubs who are lost including Armley.When you trace the papers on the web-site it only goes up to 1900 and you have to go to Central Library to see the other papers.Plenty to go at whilst it is raining.

Thursday, 21 June 2012

In living memory

posted by John Winn

Prompted by another thoroughly miserable weather forecast threatening to deal a further severe blow to weekend cricket I recalled an article that appeared in the !986 Wisden under the heading 'The Wettest Summer of Them All?' by John Kitchin. The article was a response to the summer of 1985 when 'Messrs Macaskill and Fish filled our television screens with rings of densely packed isobars foreboding ill'. For Macaskill and Fish substitute Hammond and Taylor and little seems to have changed.

Buckets of statistics have been produced to demonstrate how many days, hours, overs and perhaps most importantly pounds the counties have lost so far this season (see page 23 of this week's 'Cricket Paper' for example). With no sign of things getting better will  2012 usurp all other contenders to be crowned 'The Wettest Summer of Them All'?. Kitchin's article went beyond just relying on the memory of editors of Wisden over the years and compiled a table which recorded rainfall in May, June, July and August (very little April cricket at that time of course), batting and bowling averages and first class centuries. Top of the list for rainfall was 1903 and of the nine seasons compared it had the lowest number of batsmen averaging over 50 (just two) and the highest number of bowlers averaging under 20 (44). This combination of rain, low scores and bowler domination led the author to award the golden umbrella to 1903, described by Wisden as 'worse even than 1879' and 'the wettest within the experience of  anyone (then) playing first class cricket'. Apart from the weather 1903 is remembered in cricket history as the year of Hammond's birth and Shrewsbury's death. Middlesex won the championship, Yorkshire, suffering much from the absence of and injuries to key players, finished third.
According to Kitchin the chief rivals to 1903 were 1924 and 1958 and I suspect some of our readers ,like the writer, will remember the last of these when a hopelessly outclassed New Zealand team, having lost the first four tests,  were probably saved  from a 5-0 whitewash by rain at The Oval. The then editor of Wisden described the year as 'the wettest season in memory',, even wetter than 1956, which he had also described as 'the wettest in memory'.
In 2012 we have already noted two important centenary anniversaries, Scott's polar expedition and the sinking of The Titanic and from a cricket lover's point of view 1912, one of Kitchin's years, was the year of the triangular test tournament when England were joined by South Africa and Australia, bringing together the only three test playing nations at that time. The tournament was not a success, Australia brought a much weakened side and South Africa's form was disappointing but perhaps above all it took place during 'one of the most appalling summers ever known', (Wisden). The seventh of the nine test matches was played at Trent Bridge on August 5th-7th between Australia and South Africa and another 98 years were to lapse before another neutral test was played in England when Australia met Pakistan at Lords in 2010. The full story of the tournament is described in a very detailed  book by Patrick Ferriday,  ,Before The Lights Went Out, published in 2011.

Were someone  to effect a similar kind of analysis of 2012 to that done by Kitchin then it would be difficult to compare like with like. The proliferation of one day and T20 cricket arguably diminishes the value of first class averages, and covering and drainage of most first class grounds is improved out of all recognition. Perhaps we will merely come to rely on our memories and that of the editor of Wisden who will surprise me if in next year's almanac he does not describe 2012 as 'the wettest season in memory'.

Finally Cumberland's epic journey to Truro to play Cornwall in the MCCA KO competition has been reported in the press and on the internet as has their victory taking them into the semi finals .What is perhaps less well known is that the semi final draw has secured them an away tie with Dorset at Dean Park, Bournemouth, another arduous Saturday evening journey before the game on Sunday July 1st. The other tie will be between Staffordshire and Wiltshire, to be played at Leek.

CRICKET IN THE MEADOW

By Brian Sanderson,

I had planned to go back to Ashby -de-la-Zouche to see Leicester Seconds and Derbyshire Seconds.However I noticed on Sunday that the club web-site the match was off due to the rain.However no mention on the Leicestershire or Derbyshire web-sites.So I rang up Derbyshire office and promised a reply back to confirm if the match had been switched. I am still waiting a reply however on the Leicester web-site on Monday night it stated that it had been transfered to Belpher Meadows ground and was now a friendly three day match.

The Belpher ground enterence is very small and is next to the football ground.It has a sloping pitch but with a banking on the side looking at the green fields opposite excellent views and a lot better than any stadiums.It turned out that Belpher were asked to stage the match on Monday afternoon and did very well to organise all the facilities at short notice.The first person I saw in the clubhouse was Ismail Darwood who was one of the umpires.Ismail is a ex Yorshire player and now  plays for Hanging Heaton on a Saturday which is a Bradford League  team.

The sun was shinning as Leicester opening batsmen came out to play on a previous played pitch.
Wickets fell quickly but William Jefferson ex British Universities,Essex,Durham UCCE,Nottingham and now Leicester  scored some runs.He was seventh out having faced 132 deliveries for 74.Leicester managed  189 when a heavy rain shower came.No sooner had the covers came on the rain stopped.

Derbyshire also struggled to score and at 6.30 the score was 96 for 6.The only batsman to score runs was Paul Borrington who,s father also played for Derby in the 1970,s.He scored 44 which some good cover drives.

A excellent day  in friendly surroundings and a ground worth visiting.

Same old story

posted by John Winn

Last Saturday was like so many others this season but just for the record I went along to Ouseburn CC just after two o'clock to be met by groundsman Edward Pearson who told me that the persistent and heavy showers we had had on Friday had proved too much for the covering system and the match against Helperby had been called off. Indeed of the 52 fixtures due to be played in The Nidderdale League that day, only two got started and only one of those reached a satisfactory conclusion, namely the one at Alne. Satisfactory for Alne that is who beat Burton Leonard.

A better day on Sunday with some warm sunshine and a drying breeze gave me hope that the National KO Cup match between York and Blaydon might be played but alas no. Most of the group finals were completed however and on a day of relatively low scores produced some exciting cricket. In Group 5 for example Ormskirk beat Northern by virtue of having lost fewer wickets. In Group 7 Neston were only five runs better than Boughton Hall and in Group 15 in a Middlesex League derby Teddington had only three runs to spare over Ealing. The remaining group finals will be played this Sunday (subject to you know what) and the draw for the last sixteen stage matches has been made and I will post it on Monday. .

Monday saw me travelling to Cambridge on non-cricketing business but tempted by the opportunity to see some cricket I took an early train. The game in question was between Cambridge University Women and an MCC women's team and was to be played on the ground of Fitzwilliam College. Before leaving home I telephoned the college who helpfully gave me the number of the groundsman's mobile and if he was surprised as to why anybody would want to know , he did not show it in assuring me that the game was on. He might have added 'but hurry up', for although I did see some cricket on a lovely afternoon, the match was a mismatch  with the MCC winning by eight wickets in quick time. The college ground is off the Huntingdon Road and rather tucked away, being surrounded by houses on three sides. Bit disappointing really, a rather plain ground opened in 1927 in tribute to former Fitzwilliam staff and students killed in 'The Great War'. The standard of the cricket came nowhere near that provided by the Essex and Yorkshire women at Harrogate last month.

Like everywhere else Cambridge has enjoyed good weather this week and it was frustrating to spend two days in a building adjacent to Parker's Piece without the opportunity to see some cricket played on this famous 25 acres. Back home today has met the forecasters' promise of more rain and continuing unsettled, same old story.

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

SCHOOL REACHES 500

By Brian Sanderson,

On a sunny Monday morning I set off to Yorkshire Dales to go to Gigglewick School.There was a cricket match against the M.C.C in celebration of their quincentenary.You enter the ground through a stone arch and see the old pavilion on our right whilst on the left was the arched Chapel.The M.C.C. as usual were batting against a young school side.

Sat in the sunshine near the pavilion was Tony Hutton with Ian from Lancaster sat in his car on the opposite side of the large ground.M.C.C side included the President of the club R.P.Hodson and the 70 year old wicket keeper Tommy Hodgson.At lunctime they had reached 160 for 2 in about 30 overs with a batsman called Pearce scoring 110.

At lunch-time I had a chance to speak to Kevin Sharp who used to be the Yorkshire batting coach until last year.He is enjoying his work in pleasent surroundings.Tony Hutton went into the village to a local pub he went in 35 years ago with Frank Lowson who opened the innings for Yorkshire in the 1950.s.Frank shown Tony the school ground for the first were Frank had scored his first century for Bradford Grammar School.

After lunch we were able to see the President out L.B.W first ball for a duck.M.C.C had reached 210 when they declared.I had to leave the delightful ground early as I was going to the Leeds Rugby League match at night.

On Sunday North Leeds and Kirkstsall Educational lost their cup matches.

Sunday, 17 June 2012

BLUE SKIES

By Brian Sanderson,

On Saturday I had decided not to go to a match because of the rain.The weather forecast for to-day was dry so I orginally thought of going to see York but I heard it had been called off.Plan B was to watch Waddilow cup matches  with Mick Bourne.

We called firstly to see the birth pl;ace of Sir F.S.Jackson  in  Chapel Allerton which is situated near the Police Station.The first match we went to was North Leeds against Green Lane.Green Lane were batting with the pitch with a long boundary to the club house.The pitch looked dry even with all the rain which had fallen.Tony Hutton joined us in the sunshine who had also stopped in yesterday.We stayed for about twenty overs and moved on to Collingham.

Collingham were playing Kirkstall Eductional  and were batting.There were three wickets to fall  with 130 on the board but plenty of overs to go.They managed to reach 201 in the 45 over but the bowling did not look strong.Kirkstall were missing some players and Andy Siddal  who is the coach to Leeds Met that I saw on Wednesday.I had been informed by Tony Hutton that Met won with a good 10th wicket partnership to go to the final in The Parks. The comment by Andy was that he should not have played because he was not fit due to bad knee.

After tea Kirkstall were 50 for 5 as we left to go back to North Leeds. Green Lane had scored 172 and North Leeds had lost two wickets for 50 with 25 overs to go.They kept losing wickets  and were 100 for 5.There were no programmes and the web-site does not give a up-to-date scores so you struggling to now the name of the batsmen.As I had to leave for my dinner North Leeds wanted 40 in abot 8 overs with four wickets to fall.

It would be nice to have a single piece of paper with the team names on them which helps  spectators to know the players.

Saturday, 16 June 2012

University Cricket Finals Week

posted by John Winn

I am indebted to Tony Hutton for the following details of the various university cricket finals which are to be held this week.

Tuesday 19th June

MCCU T20 finals day at Loughborough University. The four finalists are Cardiff, Leeds/Bradford, Loughborough and Oxford

Wednesday 20th June

BUCS Premier A Final at Wormsley.  Durham MCCU v Loughborough MCCU

BUCS Men's Trophy Final at The Parks, Oxford.  Leeds Met v Bournemouth

Friday 22nd June

Women's University Final at Lord's Nursery Ground. Loughborough Women v Durham Women

MCCU Championship Final at Lord's. Cambridge MCCU v Durham MCCU

Nice to see some coverage of university cricket in The Cricket Paper, page 34 in this week's issue in case you misssed it.

Thursday, 14 June 2012

2nd XI t20 finals day postponed

posted by John Winn

The finals day for the second eleven t20 competition due to have been held at Arundel Castle tomorrow has been postponed to an as yet unknown date. The draw, however has been made and is as follows,

England Under 19s v Worcestershire II

Essex II v Sussex II

It has not been easy to get details of this competition: the tables on the ECB website have not been updated to show yesterday's matches for example but I found news of the postponement on the Worcestershire site. It has now been added to the Sussex site, who as eventual hosts will be hopeful of retaining the title they won last year. Their record in this year's competition is impressive with six wins out of eight and two no results.

SPOUT HOUSE NETTLES AND MIDGES

By Brian Sanderson,

After Kirkstall I joined Ron Deaton to go to the Feversham League.The match was Spout Houses against Duncombe Park.The ground is situated on the B1257 road between Helmsley and Cleveland about five miles outside Hemsley.It is situated on the right hand side behind the Sun Inn which was closed.The pub is run by William Ainsley who,s grandfather was the club secretary for 72 years.There is a stone at the top of the field which commemorate the fact.

The field is sloping down to the road with the pitch is sculptured in the middle with uncut grass round in the field.When we arrived the pitch was being rolled by a large stone roller which has the teams intials on the side. The first person we meet was Mike Amos who is The Northern Echo sport reporter who visits the league once a year and writes a report on his visit.Ron had known him when he worked at British Rail about thirty-five years ago.Mike had read Off The Beaten Track written by Tony, Brian and Mick and had been in touch with Tony.

Duncombe Park batted first and managed to reach 51 in 18 overs.The only way to score was to hit in the air as the grass was to long for the ball travel through.On of the Umpires was Charles Allenby who is the sectretary of the League who had been in touch with Ron.There were two other spectators from Stockton who travelled to watch Spout Houses during the season.In the club house there is a framed score sheet of Prince Harry playing in the match here.

Spout Houses batted and were 3 for 3 after 8 overs so were behind the rate.When we were leaving they had reached 24  for 6 in 14 overs with the opening bat 8 not out.During the second half the midges started to attack us and I stuck my hand on a nettle.

The ground has great views but last night it was cold and damp.Mike Amos states that you are not a Proffesional Cricketer Watcher until you have been to this Ground so we have both joined the club.
Mike report inThe Northern Echo will appear in a fortnight and look forward to reading a professional report.

BACK HOME

By Brian Sanderson,

The family went on the trip to Noth Wales last week to watch the cricket at Colwyn Bay where Yorkshire were playing Glamorgan.On Wednesday morning I settled down to watch the match from the bank next to Swansea man.It took him over two hours to get to the match via car about the same time as myself.

Yorkshire bowled first and managed to get three wickets before lunch.After a quick walk into town Starc bowled the first over after lunch with the batsmen taking 18 runs off it.Then it started to rain and this carried on till Saturday morning when we set off  back home.However my car broke down near Hartshead Moor but with the help of theA.A we arrived home. So for the next three days I had no car and had to watch Best become the best 11 in Test Cricket.

On Wednesday afternoon I went over to watch Leeds University play Leeds Met at Kirkstall Education ground.I was meet by John Tipley with a barrage of questions.Also there was Tony Hutton who kindly let me know the match was on.Also ther was Brian Cobb who kindly said he missed by blog.He also wanted to know how many hits there were on the blog  last month. The answer is 1810.
The groundsman and President David Hodgson was there acting as tea-person.He has a excellent blog on the Kirkstall web-site.

Leeds University were batting including Harry Bush, who was born in Los Angeles, however  the team only scored 182 with the help of 60 extras.I had to leave the match at tea-time as I was going to my next match at Spout Houses.Brian Cobb  left me with the comment to start blogging again.
So Brian this is the first one with Spout House to follow.

Tuesday, 12 June 2012

National KO Cup

posted by John Winn

In the knowledge that our readers do not all live or confine their interests to the north east and Yorkshire I thought it might be of some interest to list the final group matches in the Kingfisher Beer National KO Cup, other than than for Groups 1-4 which I referred to in earlier posts. All these matches are due to take place this Sunday with 1:00 pm starts. Their respective leagues are in brackets.

Group 5 Ormskirk ( Liverpool and District) v Northern CC ( Liverpool and District)

Group 6 Farnsworth (Bolton) v Bamford Fieldhouse (Saddleworth )

Group 7 Neston ( Cheshire) v Chester Broughton Hall ( Cheshire)

Group 8 Kidderminster Victoria (Birmingham) v Walsall (Birmingham)

Group 9 South Wilts (Southern Premier) v Sully Centurions (South Wales)

Group 10 Bridgewater ( West of England) v Bovey Tracey (Devon)

Group 11 Spencer (Surrey) v Havant (Souther Premier)

Group 12 Barnt Green (Birmingham) v Banbury (Home Counties)

Group 13 Great Witchingham (East Anglia) v Brentwood ( Essex)

Group 14 Wanstead and Snaresborough ( Essex) v Harrow (Middlesex)

Group 15 Teddington (Middlesex) v Ealing (Mioddlesex)

Group 16 Tunbridge Wells (Kent) v Hastings and St Leonards (Sussex)

Both last year's finalists, Cambridge Granta and Shrewsbury have been knocked out but the 2011 defeated semi finalists, Ealing and West Indian Cavaliers remain.

Monday, 11 June 2012

A question of title

Yesterday I drove the short distance to the lovely ground at Follifoot near Harroagte where an inter league match was scheduled between the Aire Wharf league and the Bradford Mutual Sunday School league. The second of these may be the less well known of the two but it was founded was in 1896 and a detailed history of its development can be found on its website. Today the composition of its 37 teams, divided into four groups,  reflects Bradford's multicultural population

The competition, for the West Yorkshire Area Cricket Council KO Cup, not surprisingly organised by the aforesaid council, is contested by eight leagues with the Halifax, Huddersfield Central, South Yorkshire, Dales Council, Wetherby and York and District Senior leagues being the others. The match at Follifoot was a first round (quarter final) match over forty overs..

The competition was previously known as the Leeds Invitation cup but it is also referred to by some as the' Joe Lumb'. On the Aire Wharf website I found the league's team for the match under the formal heading of the WYAC KO cup saying that 'the following...have been selected for the first Joe Lumb match'. It also said that 'the expected attire is jacket and tie'. Assuming that this did not apply to spectators and opting for not very smart casual I arrived just in time to see Aire Wharf take the field. The host team had been selected as a development team with all players under 22, but the Bradford team clearly had not been selected on this basis.

The afternoon was pleasantly warm but the type of ominous clouds which had brought the rain that washed out many of Saturday's matches soon began to build up. An interesting sideline to the cricket was provided by a red kite which several times emerged from the nearby woodland to swoop low over the ground.
Bradford lost early wickets and were soon 22 for 3 but they rallied to post 160 for 9 off their 40 overs. The last few overs of the innings were played in pouring rain and during the tea interval the umpires were left with the difficult task of interpreting the rules of the competition when weather intervenes.The ground appeared to take the rain well and there were hopes that a resumption might be possible after some mopping up. I decided to return home and as I drove away the rain returned and by the time I crossed over the A1 it had become torrential. I regret I cannot post news of the outcome, despite a trawl of the Yorkshire Post and the two leagues' and the Council's websites this morning. Similarly I have no details of individual performances for I did not like to unduly disturb the lone scorer.

A couple of weeks ago in glorious sunshine, there was a goodly gathering of pcws at Bingley for two matches in the County Second XI T20 competition. The semi finals and final of this competition are due to be played at Arundel on Friday of this week but there are still a host of qualifying matches to be played before then. The last  zone games are not played until Wednesday  so the four qualifiers for the finals may not be settled before then.

I have been banging the drum a bit for the National KO Cup and the four northern group finalists are now known. I made reference to groups 1 and 2 in Saturday's posting but the finals for groups 3 and 4 are are scheduled for this Sunday.In group 3, West Indian Cavaliers host Ockbrook and Borrowash and in group 4 Blackpool will meet Chorley.

Finally a postscript to Saturday's posting wherein I made reference to Medbourne CC and just out of interest I checked up to see how they had fared in their Northamptonshire League match on Saturday. Their opponents were Grendon for whom one of the opening bats was the former Somerset and Northants ( and at one time in his career possible England player), Roy Virgin, now in his seventies. Virgin was seventh out scoring 29 off 131 balls, not many sharp singles I suppose. The team was captained by David Virgin who I believe is Roy's son and included Matt Virgin, a grandson, all tucked away in Division 13 (sic) of the 15 teams making up the league.


Saturday, 9 June 2012

Rain wins again

posted by John Winn

Home this morning from a few days in the lovely Welland valley in south Leicestershire and again feeling  frustrated by yet more rain.
On Tuesday I went to Clifton Park, York to see York CC take on South Northumberland from the North East Premier League in the national KO cup, a match which was originally scheduled for Sunday but rain had forced its postponement. York batted first and after a brisk start lost wickets steadily especially when trying to force the pace and several batsmen fell to good catches in the deep. The innings was held together by opener Duncan Snell who was ninth out for 70 and the innings closed on 163 in the 44th over. Only two other batsmen reached double figures.
'South North' got their reply off to a flying start but York introduced spin as early as the third over and left  armer and skipper Woods' soon got the breakthrough when Heather was smartly caught at slip by Snell. Assisted by Pringle, Woods put a brake on the scoring and as in the York innings wickets fell frequently and the visitors were all out in the 37th over still 57 short of their target.
York will now play another team from the North East League, Blaydon who got to this stage when Harrogate conceded the tie which was due to have been played last Sunday. Blaydon currently lying second to Sunderland in their league, will visit Clifton Park on Sunday 17th of June, for what should be an interesting group 1 final.
In group 2 Hanging Heaton have progressed to the group final stage, having beaten Whitley Hall in the semi,also on Tuesday. Their group final will be against Nottinghamshire club Cuckney but I can find no date for this tie as yet. The scheduled date for this stage is the 17th but Hanging Heaton are in Priestley Cup action that day.
My wife and I travelled down to Leicestershire on Wednesday and the play cricket web site showed a Market Harborough & District Mid-Week league fixture between Nevill Holt ( a team not a very talented all rounder) and local rivals Medbourne, two clubs just one and a half miles apart. Alas a heavy shower at 5:30 put paid to the fixture but I did make the short trip to Nevill Holt and enjoyed conversation with two men who were just fencing off the square. Put Nevill Holt into a search engine and it will tell you that it is a hamlet ( population 28)and you will also find information about Nevill Holt Hall in the grounds of which this lovely cricket field is situated and from where there are stunning views over the Welland valley. The hall, a former prep school, has latterly been the home of David Ross, a co-founder of Carphone Warehouse, but previously belonged to The Cunard family.
Nevill Holt CC play only friendlies at the weekends when their opponents include clubs like Uppingham CC, Oxford Postmodernists CC,and Old Wyvernians. Other teams use the ground on spare dates and the excellent fixture card I was given showed intriguing contests such as Gogs v ex Tempore and Gogs v Leicester Gents.Gogs is I believe short for Pedagogues. Gogs Townies v Gogs County sounds most interesting.(June 30th if you are in the area.)
Medbourne an altogether bigger club than Nevill Holt, run three senior sides and five junior teams. Their senior teams operate in the Rutland League and the Northamptonshire league but not the Leicestershire league, I'm sure there is a good reason for this but would need to visit the area again to seek an explanation.
Arriving home at lunchtime today I went to see Ouseburn II take on Rainton in a Nidderdale League Div 3 contest. Ouseburn were batting with skipper Mark Kinghorn leading the way with some stout blows but black clouds hovering over the River Ure gradually encircled the ground accompanied by thunder and lightning and with the score at 70 for 5 and Kinghorn 50 not out the players were driven from the field by torrential rain and the square was rapidly flooded, the steps leading down to the changing rooms became a cascade and in a few minutes it became obvious that cricket at Ouseburn was over for the day and tomorrow and who knows after that?
Driving the mile and half home I passed very gingerly through two floods and can't help wondering if such storms have been widespread how much cricket there is likely to be in Yorkshire tomorrow.
While sheltering from the deluge at Ouseburn I enjoyed a cup of tea and a chat with the head of the junior section Caroline Lever about the problems of catering for the 89 registered youngsters in her care, especially in such a cold and wet summer. Despite the difficulties she described it is heartening to find that so many under nines to under seventeens enjoy the game and I will be sure to support the club coffee morning next Saturday, even the weather can't spoil that!

Monday, 4 June 2012

FOLLOWING IN WILFRED AND HERBERT FOOTSTEPS

By Brian Sanderson,

After cutting the hedge  I went with Ron Stansfield to watch some Huddersfield League.The sun was shinning but there was a cold breeze as we arrived at Kirkheaton were the seconds were playing Lepton Highlanders. The closed club house had grills and the door and windows .This is the pavilion that Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst opened in 1950.I  think they would be shocked by the grills.

Lepton batted first as we sat outside the pavilion looking at the greenfields which the greats would have seen.There were some boys playing football in June which would not have happen in the 1950,s.We left after 15 overs with one wicket fallen and the score 40.

The next match was Lascelles Hall against Paddock.Recently there has been a fire which destroyed the pavilion and has now been replaced by flat roof building.The tea ladies said that it had rained in during the heavy rain of yesterday.This club  was the bedrock of Yorkshire cricket in the 1870,s and deserves to have better facilities.
There is magnificent views over Kirkheaton  and you can see the cricket ground in the distance.The home side were batting and had scored 120 for 6 as wel left.

We heard that Lepton had been bowled out for 47 so we moved on to the ground about five minutes away.
The ground is shared by the football team and Thongsbridge required 7 runs to win with ten wickets avaliable.
When the scores were tied one batsman got out caught which would not have pleased the number3.The came was soon over and we moved on to Emley.

The ground took some finding.I wish the cricket clubs could put up a sign giving people clues were the match is being played.Here again the cricket pitch was on the old football pitch and there was little seating.Holmfirth had bowled first but could not see the score.Decided to move on as it would have been difficult to find somewere Ron could sit.

Next match was Kirkburton against Hoylandswain.Hoylandswain were just winning the match as we arrived.The ground is in clear view of Emley Moor mast and all the grounds we visited the mast was visible.

Good afternoon visiting grounds in good weather for a change.

ANOTHER DAY OF RAIN IN LEEDS

By Brian Sanderson,

On Sunday night I spent some time decideing want the best area to go and watch cricket with Andrew from London.Looking at the computor I decided on Barnard Castle in County Durham.The reason for this that the rain should have cleared and also we could stay warm in The Bowes Museum.

The rain had cleared and spent an excellent two and half hours inthe Museum.Ron Deaton had mention the Museum a number of times and recommanded it.There are 18 rooms full of material collected by the Bowes.The museum was perposed by the family.The highlight of the trip is the silver swan which at 2.00 is  wind up and the swan moves. I nwould recommand it.

Moving on to Barnard Castle cricket ground the third team were playing Darlington R.A.CC.The home side were batting with Mike Stanwix .There were four of the family playing in the team.There wwas a cold easterly wind blowing so decided only to watch until cold drinks after 25 overs.They would have been better with soup.Looking this morning the home side reached 207 for8 and then bowled out Darlington for 105.

On arrived back in Leeds it was still raining.Right decision for a change.There has been over 1900 visit to this site last month.One of the country was Costa Rica he must have arrived in error.

Sunday, 3 June 2012

Four grounds in The Wetherby League

Over the past couple of seasons any plans I have made to visit grounds in The Wetherby League have been frustrated by bad weather but when I left home just before lunch yesterday the signs were encouraging: 15c and the sun trying to break through. My afternoon was to be spent at four grounds just a few miles apart at the southern edge of The Vale of York, beginning at the picturesque village of Ledsham lying just west of the A1 close to its junction with the Leeds to Selby road.
I note that the blog has had 18 hits already today which would suggest there are people out there seeking a jubilee free zone, if so look away now for Ledsham was bedecked with bunting and with a wedding at its ninth century church, the reception for which was to be held in the garden of the pub across the road, a garden from which I could hear the sound of bat on ball, this lovely village was indeed in festive mood.
The excitement continued at the cricket field where bunting was decorating the neat pavilion, opened in 2002, and inside jubilee teas were already being served. Despite just having had an excellent pint in The Chequers I could not resist a piece of cake and cup of tea, fortified by which for the second week running I risked ridicule by asking if it might be possible to acquire a league handbook. Some readers may be familiar with the splendid cartoons by H.M.Bateman, in particular his 'The Man Who' series where a mixture of hilarity and horror is created by men committing social gaffes, like asking for a double scotch in the pump room at Bath or betting in half guineas at the Tattersalls' blood stock sales. A more modern version is by Royston and depicts the man who bought a sofa not in a sale. Add one to this list, 'the man who asked for a league handbook in a cricket pavilion'. 'To look at ? ' was one reaction to which I replied that ideally it would become my property and that I might take it away with me for future reference and that I was even prepared to pay for it. These conditions, which although they clearly marked me down as eccentric,did elicit a thorough search of cupboards, shelves and bags but to no avail and things were just reaching the point when any lingering doubts as to my sanity would disappear when  I confessed that I would be moving onto another ground where I would try again, the opposition skipper unearthed one in his bag and pressed it into my hand at no charge.
Whilst all this was going the game, a Division Four match against Walton A (seconds to you and me) had begun with the visitors, having lost one very early wicket, making slow progress. One down became two thanks to a brilliant catch, which I missed because I was absorbed in my precious handbook but the reaction of the players on both sides told me that it was an exceptional dismissal and the victim was so shocked by his ill fortune that he had not reached the pavilion by the time the incoming batsman took guard. When he did climb the pavilion steps he was batless and gloveless, further evidence of how harshly he thought the day had treated him.
From Ledsham I drove the few miles to the village of Hillam where tucked away down Stocking Lane is the attractive home of Hillam and Monk Fryston CC, whose second team were entertaining local opposition in Church Fenton A in a Divsion 5 game. Here there is another new  pavilion, opened just last year in which there is a collection of old photographs dating back to the 1920s and showing the teams for matches between Hillam Hall and the Yorkshire Gentlemen. I got into conversation with the groundsman who lives in one of the houses on one side of the ground. He drew my attention to a bell which now hangs in the new pavilion but which was donated to the club circa 1926 and had previously hung on the old pavilion which still stands at the opposite end of the ground from the new construction. In the match Hillam were batting and had over 50 on the board without loss but despite this good start and contrary to what it says on the league's fiddly website this morning, Church Fenton were the winners.
Next stop, and again just a couple of miles up the road is South Milford and a second division game between South Milford and Old Leos from Leeds. The afternoon had turned noticeably colder and there was a hint of damp in the air and while I watched, a collapse started which from 106 for 2 led to the visitors being 147 all out and eventual defeat by 6 wickets.Some smart wicketkeeping including a legside stumping began the fall of wickets and there was a noticeable step up in the agility and commitment of fielders at this level.
Another short drive brought me to Church Fenton whose RAF station sometimes supplies meteorological information quoted on Look North. Church Fenton were relegated from Division 1 last season and have not found the going too easy at this level but three 'no results' have not helped and they were building a good position against Kippax when I arrived. Their 192 all out was 97 runs too good for the visitors, a result which moves them up to seventh out of twelve, two points behind Kippax.
The Wetherby League has lost some clubs in recent years including two to the Nidderdale League in 2010 and clubs in divisions four, five and six have blank weeks but I enjoyed my afternoon  particularly the attractive grounds at Ledsham and Hillam.

Saturday, 2 June 2012

CRICKET FIXTURES FOR JUNE

By Brian Sanderson,

As requested by Brian Cobb some fixtures are listed below.The time is 10.45 P.M.

3 JUNE  YORK .C.C  V  SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND   I.OO

4 JUNE  FULL  LEAGUE PROGRAMMES.

5 JUNE   LEEDS AND BRADFORD UNIV   V  DURHAM   WEETWOOD
                HANGING HEATON  V   WHITLEY HAL        1.00
                DERBYSHIRE SECONDS  V   GLAMORGAN  DERBY  THREE DAYS

6 JUNE LEEDS AND BRADFORD  V    DURHAM
              JOE LUMB  YORK   V  EAST YORKSHIRE STAMFORD BRIDGE.
              YORKSHIRE UNDER 17  V   DERBYSHIRE   UNDERCLIFFE.

7 JUNE   LEEDS AND BRADFORD UNIV  V  DURHAM

10 JUNE  CHESHIRE  V  SHROPSHIRE  BRIDGENORTH
               CUMBERLAND  V   STAFFORDSHIRE   BARROW

17 JUNE  JOE LUMB   LEEDS V DONCASTER    METHLEY
                                      WETHERBY    V   SCARBOROUGH  COLTON

18  JUNE   M.C.C    V  GIGGLESWICK

20 JUNE   M.C.C  V  NORTH YORKSHIRE C.A.  CLIFTON ALLIANCE
                  LEICESTER SECONDS  V   DERBYSHIRE  ASHBY HASTINGS  3DAYS
 22 JUNE  YORKSHIRE UNDER 15  V  DURHAM   HARROGATE

24 JUNE   CUMBERLAND   V   LINCOLNSHIRE   FURNESS

25 YORKSHIRE SECONDS  V  WORCESTERSHIRE   PUDSEY CONGS

26 YORKSHIRE SECONDS  V   WORCESTERSHIRE   BARNSLEY  3DAYS

29 M.C.C   V ST.PETERS                       YORK

PLEASE CKECK BEFORE LEAVING FIXTURES HAVE WAYS OF BEEING CHANGED.

HOPE IT IS DRY AND WARM.



NO PORK PIES AT LIGHTCLIFFE

By Brian Sanderson,

It was a cloudy morning for the final day of the Yorkshire match.I watched the match for the first hour and was able to sit with a number Yorkshire supporters.The first person was Andrew who would be going with me to watch Lightcliffe and Woodlands in the Bradford First Division.The second person was Ron Stansfield who was also going to Lightcliffe with us.The third person was Brian Cobb who stated the pies were good at Lightccliffe.In the meanwhile Northants lost a wicket but Yorkshire wanted more to win the match.

We arrived at Lightcliffe as the umpires were comimg out.Woodlands had won the toss and batted.The pitch looked green  and good for bowling.Soon Woodlands were 60 for 5 with overs to spare. It was Tim Orrell and Chris Brice who helped to bring the total up to 183 for 8 after fifty overs.This was a good total after the early fall of wickets and the green wicket.One of the best bowlers was Moin Ashraf who has played first class cricket for Yorkshire.He took three wickets for 27 in nine overs.

After a pint in The Sun pub Lightcliffe were soon 6 for 38 with Sarfraz Ahmed and Swanepoel bowling well. The batsman could not cope with them.It was left to Johathan Wilson,the captain,to bring the score up to 97 with a not out score of 31.Brice also took three wickets to finish off the innings.However there were no Pork pies.Also it was freezing.

On the way back home we called into Bankfoot who were playing Morley.Morley had scored 221 and Banfoot were 50 for 2 with thirty overs to bowl.The only batsman was Elsroy Powell who scored 38 with a number of straight sixes.As soon as he was out Bankfoot were all out for 122.The best Morley bowler was Kashif Naveed who was a left-arm spinner. He took  4 for 15.You had to keep moving to keep warm.

I understand that Yorkshire drew their match.

Amongst mere mortals

posted by John Winn

I was not in the kind of exalted company Brian enjoyed yesterday and the 'think tank' was slightly depleted in numbers but not for the first time opinions were divided as to the merits of Yorkshire's cricket , particularly in the afternoon when the run rate slipped below four an over from the dizzy heights set by Root and Bairstow on Thursdaya evening. I was not part of the majority  who thought that Yorkshire rather lost the way after lunch. Rather I felt that they did as well as some good Northants bowling allowed and that a more adventurous approach might have resulted in the loss of wickets and thet any lead gained would have been insignificant. As it was the last five wickets added just short of 150 which with Rafiq coming in at 8 was a good effort. McGrath, as well as scoring a steady 47 added to the drama of the afternoon by his 'will he, won't he? ' entrance when he must have come very close to being timed out.
Northants had 15 overs to face and a deficit of 163 but would probably be reasonably pleased to only lose one wicket before the close and will start this morning 120 behind.  If they bat for two sessions today that will probably ensure the draw but early wickets for Yorkshire could create a winning position. Not for the first time the opening hour will be critical. I have decided that with a draw still the most likely outcome, I will, rather than travel to Headingley,  execute a plan to visit some Wetherby League grounds, a plan that has twice been postponed this season due to rain. As I usually get these things wrong those going to HQ can probably expect an exciting day.

CHANCE TO MEET THE PRESIDENT

By Brian Sanderson,

We were meet by more rain in the morning and the cricket did not start till 12.00.It  took Root three balls to reach his hundred and with Bairstow put on a good partnership.I watched the cricket from the football stand and was joined by Brian Cobb who wants me to put the fixtures for June on the site.This will cause a late night  tonight obeying the guru.

As I walked to the Long Room just before lunch Root was caught by the Wicket-keeper for 125.I did a Brian Senior moment and missed the wicket.After lunch Bairstow and Ballance continue towards 400 and maximum batting points.Bairstow was bowled by Hall who soon afterwards hurt his ankle.Next to go was Ballance caught bat pad of Middlebrook.Soon after I went to see Sir Geoffrey Boycott with five other supporters.

We watched Rafiq from the pavilion and at tea-time went to have tea and cakes with Geoffrey.He was in good form and told some good tales about Sir Len Hutton ,Dickie Bird,Fred Trueman and himself.His  wife was there with her new birthday present from Geoffrey, a wrist bracelet costing a lot of money.

As I left the Stadium Rafiq was out.I had to leave early to get ready for the Rugby League that evening.I will not comment on the loss to Wigan.Looking at the Yorkshire web-site this morning Northants were 43 for 1 still 120 runs behind.

Friday, 1 June 2012

WET DAY AT HEADINGLEY AGAIN

By Brian Sanderson,

The forecast was rain and clearing by 4.00.Surprise it happen and I was able to watch an hour play in bright sunshine.In the morning Geoffrey Boycott held a fans forum in the Long Room.There were about 50 people present.

We settled down to talk cricket whilst the rain fell.I was joined by Andrew Wickham who had decided to come up to Yorkshire to see some cricket.After  lunch we decided to go to the Leeds Library which is a private library in Commercial Street. It is a oasis  from the hassle of central Leeds  and is run by very helpful people. The library was founded in 1768 and now can be joined by membership.Whilst I was there I was able to find a map of Middleton in 1910 which shown the position of Middleton Park Cricket Club together with the pavilion.Middleton Park Club is one of my projects at this time.

Arrived back at Headingley cricket had started with Root and Bairstow batting. Root should have been stumped off Middlebrook but the keeper made a mess of it.I noticed that a few students tried to watch the match from the debenture seats but were escorted out.Root finished on 98 with Bairstow 36 with a partnership of 94.

The forecast is dull weather but clearing later. We will see.