but not as we know it

posted by John Winn

Sunday morning and a drive over to Leeds to rendezvous with Tony Hutton and Brian Sanderson en route to Upper Wharfedale for the annual winter tour match between Appletreewick and Malhamdale. After a false alarm at Bolton Abbey where our attention was arrested by the glimpse of a man in a white coat standing by the local cricket club pavilion  we turned on to the B6160 and were soon in Appletreewick. This was all new territory for me and even on a gradually dulling winter's morning I could appreciate why the area is so popular with walkers.

Out first call was at The New Inn where we were assured by the barman that it was Appletreewick's turn to host the game and that it would be played in a field just over the road from this excellent pub. After lunching well and enjoying the fine range of beers on tap we left the pub to be met by Ian Cockerill from Lancaster, very much a supporter of these matches, and walked with him the 150 yards to The Craven Arms where the two teams were going through their warm ups.

Previous matches in this series are well documented both in print (Off the beaten track and Two men and a blog) and on the web at the Malhamdale CC  website. Rereading these this morning there are some constant themes running through them: an uneven pitch, a biting wind, a reluctance amongst the players to start and the subsequent need to shorten the game and above all the presence of alcohol, before, during and after. All these were in evidence yesterday.

A start was made at 2:45 but not before a short silence was held in memory of the Appletreewick scorer and our  dear friend Mick Bourne, both of whom had died since last year's match. The report on the 2009 game on the MCC site was written by Mick. Wickets were pitched on't ridge and local rules applied, in particular that all runs would be just that,  no fours or sixes. Although not a cricket field as such certain key facilities were available, a bar, a brazier and a sofa and these were well used, especially the first.

In an effort to keep warm the 'Leeds three' together with the 'Lancaster one' made a circuit of the ground but this merely exposed us more to the 'sneaky wind', as it was described  by a  local. MCC knocked up 60 off their ten overs at which point the three of decided that discretion was the better part of hypothermia and headed back to Leeds. Ian, being made of tougher stuff, stayed on.

I will certainly return to this part of the world, by a more direct route just an hour's drive from the Lower Ure Valley, but having added January cricket to my CV I think I will wait for a fine summer's evening before passing that way again and take in some of the more conventional cricket available in the area.