Since about the end of August friends have been asking 'What will you do now that cricket's over?' Finally the question can be answered without having to try and explain that county cricket would not finish until almost the end of September and that the Arthington Festival would take us well into October before stumps would be pulled for the final time.
Umpire await the sides at Arthington yesterday.
Brian has described the details of yesterday's match when another sunny Sunday allowed a gaggle of pcws to squeeze the last drop out of what has been an enjoyable season. The usual suspects were gathered in the north west corner but as the shadows lengthened even a seat in the sun did not guarantee warmth: a reminder that this week we reach the middle of the tenth month. Clocks go back in a couple of weeks and then it's bonfire night and all downhill, or uphill if you prefer, to Christmas.
All of which can be a bit depressing so let's remind ourselves that next season's first class fixtures should be published in about six weeks at which point we can start planning our 2015 watching.
Summing up 2014 it can be said that for the second year running the weather has been good with high temperatures and long dry spells. Even on the 26th of September, when Yorkshire and Somerset kept us on edge to the last ball of the championship season, the sun was warm enough to encourage the use of Factor 30 cream, although to be fair to the opponents of such a late finish to the season the previous day had been cold enough to make watching cricket an uncomfortable experience. For this blogger it has been a memorable year; seeing more cricket than ever before, a member of two trophy winning counties, my local club champions of the Nidderdale League and managing to see at least part of all of the seven 'must see' matches that were available. This leaves only five such games to complete the 153 necessary to have seen each county play every other county at least once.
During the season I have completed the full set for Essex, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Surrey, Northants, Notts and Worcestershire. Inevitably after such a feast there follows famine and 2015 provides only one of my outstanding five, Derbyshire v Lancashire, so a big reduction in travelling unless of course another project comes to mind. In the meantime my research into Yorkshire's 'lost leagues' continues and yesterday I spoke to Frank Siddle *on the telephone and he was able to supply information about the grounds used by The Northern Echo and The Northern Despatch in the 1965 Swaledale league season. Not surprisingly the two newspaper teams ground shared using the 'Rocket' ground on Thompson Street East, Darlington. The ground belonged to Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns, locomotive builders, whose factory was close by. 'Stivvies' as the company was colloquially known, was not far from where I lived as a boy and we could hear the buzzer calling its large labour force to work. Locomotive building ceased at the works in 1964 and the sports ground has long since gone to housing. Travelling north by train you would pass the site on your right hand side about a mile out of Darlington station.
Finally I have the dates for the Jim the Cat cricket lunches for this winter. JTC has moved his basket to Elland CC and the first meeting was held last Friday. Future dates are Friday November 14th, Friday 12th December, Friday 9th January, Friday 13th February and Friday 13th March. Doors open at 12 noon and lunch is at 1:00. I will publish the names of the speakers when I know them.
* see last week's posting 'Siddle holds the key'
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