AUGUST FIXTURES

By Brian Sanderson

2 AUGUST    DURHAM V YORKSHIRE  CHESTER LE STREET     10.30

                    CUMBERLAND  V  HERTFORDSHIRE    CARLISLE    11.00 THREE DAYS

                   YORKSHIRE  U 19   V  LINCOLNSHIRE  SHERIFF HUTTON

                  YORKSHIRE  OVER 50  V  NORTHAMPTON   ELLAND

      ECB NATIONAL 20/20   UNDERSCLIFFE     10.00

              YORKSHIRE U 15 FIXTURES BEGIN

3 AUGUST    YORKSHIRE  V  LEICESTER  HEADINGLEY   10.30

               DERBYSHIRE SECONDS   V MCCC UNIVERSITIES  DENBY  3 DAYS


4 AUGUST  ENGLAND U 19  V  AUSTRALIA  Riverside (4 days)


                    DERBYSHIRE  U 17  V  YORKSHIRE   TICKNALL

5 AUGUST  YORKSHIRE  U 15   V LANCASHIREE  PUDSEY CONGS

                      YORKSHIRE  V  SOMERSET   SCARBOROUGH   10.30

7 AUGUST   YORKSHIRE  V  DURHAM   SCARBOROUGH  4 DAYS

                     YORKSHIRE U 15  FINAL  COPLEY


9 AUGUST   DERBYSHIRE  U 14  V  YORKSHIRE   BUXTON

10 AUGUST   DURHAM SECONDS  V   YORKSHIRE  CHESTER LE STREET (Riverside) SET

                       LEICESTER SECONDS  V  QUEENS PARK  LUTTERWORTH  11.00

                        DERBYSHIRE u19 v LANCS   GLOSSOP

11 NOTTINGHAM SECONDS  V  LEICESTER   NOTTS SPORT CLUB  11.00 3DAYS

     DURHAM SECONDS  V YORKSHIRE CHESTER LE STREET (Riverside)  3 DAYS SEC

12 AUGUST  DERBYSHIRE SECONDS  V  SOMERSET  BELPER  3 DAYS

13 August Durham Under 16 v Lancs  Consett (tbc)

14 AUGUST   YORKSHIRE SECONDS  V  QUEENS PARK  WEETWOOD  11.00 3 DAYS  ?

16 AUGUST  DUNNINGTON  V  QUEENS PARK    12.30

CHESTERSHIRE  V HERTFORDSHIRE  CHESTER  3 DAYS    11.00

LINCOLNSHIRE  V  NORFOLK   CLEETHORPES  3 DAYS

Yorkshire Women v Ireland Women Harrogate 10:30

17  AUGUST  YORKSHIRE SECONDS  V  MCC UNIVERSITIES  WEETWOOD  3 DAYS

                        ENGLAND U 19 V  AUSTRALIA   DERBY

                         NOTTINGHAM SECONDS  V DERBYSHIRE  NOTTS SPORTS  4 DAYS
                       
                        YORK SENIOR LEAGUE  V QUEENS PARK  SHERIFF HUTTON  11.00
                       
                         Lancs II v Middlesex Aigburth Liverpool SEF (4)

18 AUGUST   YORKSHIRE  V  NORTHANTS  HEADINGLEY   10.30

19 AUGUST  YORKSHIRE  U 19  V  DERBYSHIRE  DENBY  2 DAYS

20 AUGUST   ENGLAND  U 19  V  AUSTRALIA   LEICESTER

21  NOTTINGHAM  V  WARWICKSHIRE   TRENT BRIDGE   4 DAYS

Durham v Middlesex 4 days  Riverside

23 AUGUST BLACK SHEEP FINAL

24  AUGUST YORKSHIRE SECONDS  V  NOTTS II    STAMFORD BRIDGE  3 DAYS
                        MCC YC v Durham II South North  3 days

26  AUGUST  YORKSHIRE U 19  V LANCASHIRE  HONLEY  2 DAYS
                         Durham U19 v Derbyshire Brandon  2 days
30 AUGUST  YORKSHIRE WOMEN   V SURREY   HARROGATE

31 AUGUST  YORKSHIRE WOMEN  V  SUSSEX  HARROGATE

Please double check dates and times before setting off as they change.Let's hope the rain keeps off.

MINI TOUR

By Brian Sanderson

This week I was given a ticket for the Worcester v Yorkshire fifty over match and as the weather forecast was good for Thursday, I decided to go with the family. I set off on Wednesday morning so I could call into the Leicester Seconds match against Lancashire at Ashby de la Zouch for three hours.

I arrived just before lunch to find Lancashire batting. The wicket was damp and the bowlers were on top with the batsman finding it hard to score against the bowling of Hurt and Freckington. There was no scorecards so it was very difficult to recognise the batsmen.  By the time we left Lancashire were 95 for 6. Looking at total scorer later Lancashire were bowled out for 157 and Leicester bowled out for 72 by the end of Wednesday evening.

Next morning the sun was shining but with a cold breeze blowing. I settled down to watch Yorkshire bat when I saw John Abrahams who had traveled down to see Alex Lees bat  on behalf of England   The photograph above is the hotel we stopped in on Wednesday night looking over the ground.

Alex Lees scored 67   and looks in form again after mid season loss of form.However the star of the innings was Glenn Maxwell.

This was his maiden century for Yorkshire finishing on 111 with 8 fours and 4 sixes. This helped Yorkshire score 345 in the fifty overs which always look to much for Worcester.

After a walk round the town I watched the second innings in the covered old stand with a view of the Cathedral. There were two run outs at the start of the Worcester innings which soon put them under pressure.

However the highlight of the afternoon was watching Ross Whiteley bat again. I have watched him three times and twice he had big hitting innings. Yesterday again he shown his clean powerful hitting. He scored 77 excellent runs with 6 fours and 5 sixes.He is the outstanding young batsman  of this season I have seen. He finished on 77 with Worcester scoring 212.

It was a hard drive back to Leeds during the evening but Yorkshire victory and Whiteley innings was worth it.

Tour de Britain - Stage eight

Posted by Tony Hutton

The last day of my tour Monday 20th July started with a comfortable drive into Wales from my overnight stay near Shrewsbury, bound for Colwyn Bay. Glamorgan were entertaining Lancashire at the Rhos on Sea ground and had already built up a good score on day one. The two not out batsmen were the two South Africans, Alviro Peterson and Ashwell Prince, both born in Port Elizabeth in fact. They had already put on 321 together and the overnight score was 425-2 with Petersen on 205 and Prince on 154.

Colwyn Bay

Upon arrival I found three of my Lancashire friends established on the banking next to the sitescreen in pole position with probably the best view of the ground. They kindly made room for me and kept me entertained throughout the day. The banter between Yorkshire and Lancashire of course continued and I could not resist taunting them about the number of overseas players in their side. After a brief rain shower, whatever their origins, the two batsman put on a marvellous display which completely destroyed the Glamorgan bowling.

Boundaries flowed to all corners of the compact ground and several sixes went flying into the neighbouring gardens. Prince soon followed Petersen to a double century. This was the first of many standing ovations and prolonged periods of applause from the  many Lancastrians in the considerable crowd  who were busy studying their Playfair annuals and several records were broken in quick succession.

Another ball flies to the boundary

Having yesterday passed the record third wicket partnership for Lancashire v Glamorgan and the highest partnership on this ground (281), they proceeded to pass the Lancashire third wicket all time record (Atherton and Fairbrother 364) soon afterwards the record stand for any wicket (Watson and G.E. Tyldesley 371). Then came the 400 partnership followed not long afterwards by the 500. Both batsmen had achieved career best individual scores and had added 501 when it came as something of a surprise as Prince was out for 261 and then Petersen for 286. Lancashire eventually declared with a score of  698-5 much to the relief of the Glamorgan bowlers.

Lunchtime score at Colwyn Bay (586-2)

So history in the making with a vengence but complaints about the unresponsive pitch were soon put into perspective when veteran Glen Chapple opened the bowling for Lancashire. In a splendid opening spell he bowled Jacques Rudolph, the Glamorgan captain not only taking the off stump but sending one of the bails almost to the boundary. In his next over Chapple had yet another South African, Colin Ingram, caught behind for 0 and soon after tea when Chris Cooke played no stroke the ball came in and hit off stump. Chapple's figures were then 11-4-27-3. What a contrast with what had gone before. Glamorgan ended the day on 165-6 and suffered a heavy innings defeat after following on.

Prince and Petersen go to lunch

The Lancastrian army possibly got more satisfaction from Chapple's bowling than from the giant partnership and certainly returned to their digs all along the North Wales coast with great satisfaction and reasons to celebrate a remarkable day's cricket.

So the end of ten day journey, with good weather, good cricket and lots of interesting people to chat to. A memorable journey indeed. The good news for me is that this may well prove to be my last solo cricket watching journey, as I have now started a new partnership with a lady who is already well known to many of our regular readers and may well become known as our Yorkshire Academy correspondent. She has already corrected some of my mistakes with Academy boys' Christian names and will no doubt keep me on the straight and narrow path in future.

Tour de Britain - Stage seven

Posted by Tony Hutton

The penultimate day of my grand tour, Sunday 19th July, was possibly the best, certainly the best weather and in my humble opinion probably the most attractive cricket ground I have ever visited. There are so many it is a very difficult decision to make but this one has a special appeal all it's own.

 Beautiful Brockhampton

I first visited the Park at Brockhampton in Herefordshire on the 14th July 1996 again on the penultimate day of a ten day tour of Wales, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Herefordshire. Hereford were playing Wiltshire and won by one wicket on day two. I can't really remember much about the game but the beautiful tree lined ground, the modest pavilion with flower baskets, the friendliness of the Hereford officials and the brisk pace of the game all contributed to a real feeling of well being. A few years later I was delighted to be at Lord's when Hereford won the Minor Counties Knock Out and have remained a member of the county ever since.

Brockhampton

This has been a regular port of call whenever possible over the years and it still remains this wonderful island of peace and tranquility, down a narrow lane not far from the River Wye, between Ross and Hereford. A new addition for me was the presence of a junior ground adjacent to the car park and a bonus in the shape of a junior tournament going on all day.

The Minor Counties game was between Hereford and Oxfordshire and the visitors, who I had seen in action in the T20 finals at Banbury, were batting first. Nothing spectacular but 50 apiece from Kaufman and skipper Ryan ensured a respectable total of  271 despite some good spin bowling notably from Jehangir who took 5-94. During the next two days after my departure the young Oxford side, with four teenagers in the ranks, pulled off a comfortable victory.

Star of the show in their second innings was a 15 year old, Harrison Ward who made 109 not out. His 50 year old Dad came on as sub after Kaufman broke a finger while Hereford chased an unlikely target of 354. Oxford winning in the end by 133 runs. Improvements have been made over the years to the pavilion and bar, but everything fits in and the magic is still there.

Rural Brockhampton

Sadly the long serving county secretary, Peter Skyes a Yorkshiremen, died last year and it was good to meet his successor Ken Sharpe who wanted to know if I was a holiday maker who had e-mailed him for directions. He was rather surprised to learn that it was not me and that I had been a regular visitor for so many years. So yet another wonderful day sitting in the sunshine and I hope that the photographs do it justice.

A wet trip down memory lane

posted by John Winn

My wife and I have just returned from a couple of wet days in Upper Teesdale, indeed when we pulled back the curtains of our hotel room this morning it was the first glimpse we had had of the sun since early Sunday.

 After a visit to Bowes Museum yesterday morning we passed the afternoon going round Raby Castle near Staindrop in County Durham. Some followers of the blog may be familiar with a book published about three years ago, 'From The Boundary's Edge' by photographer Laurence Griffiths gracing the cover of which is an iconic picture of cricket being played in the castle grounds with the splendid fourteenth century castle, home today of the 11th Lord Barnard in the background. This is how it looked yesterday, alas with no cricket.

I remember going with my father as he neared the end of his cricket playing days in about 1951 to watch him play for Haughton le Skerne against Raby. Good to see that both clubs thrive more than sixty years on in the A division of the Darlington and District League with Haughton second and Raby third. Continuing the family tradition I played at the lovely ground in the early seventies, not for my father's team but for Cockerton without much success as I recall but my father's experience of playing there goes back at least as far as 1932 for in his fixture card for that year which is still in my possession the entry for June 25th is Raby (a). For most of that season Dad has entered his scores in pencil against each fixture and next to that Saturday the entry is 0. Things don't get much better for the following week the same score is recorded but his form has improved by the time of the return match on August 6th when he made 10. To be fair this was an era of low scores and he had had a run in July when he scored 132 in 3 knocks.

 

This splendid heavy roller looks old enough to have been used in 1932 but without kneeling down on sodden grass I was unable to make out the maker's name. It stands beside much more modern equipment with a 'new' pavilion opened by Lord Barnard* in 1980. Through the pavilion window I could see some photographs and for those who like their cricket teas a sign saying Raby Castle CC teas £2:00. Regular bus service from Darlington to Staindrop and a short walk to the castle for those thinking that sounds a bargain.

 

Back to my father's 1932 fixture card (below) and I note that the second XI had home and away matches with Rounton, a village near Northallerton. Rounton were members of the Langbaurgh league between the two wars and were champions five times between 1924 and 1934 but seem not to have resurfaced when the league resumed in 1947. The two matches with Haughton II in 1932  would have been friendlies and it may have been that they were with Rounton II.

*the present incumbent's father I imagine

Tour de Britain - Stage six

Posted by Tony Hutton

Friday 17th July found me back on the mainland heading for the final stages of the Cheltenham cricket festival. I had spent the night at Salisbury and was heading north on a fast dual carriageway between Swindon and Cirencester when suddenly the traffic all came to an abrupt halt. Obviously something rather serious had happened not too far ahead with police cars, ambulances and even an air ambulance appearing. Nothing moved for nearly two hours and the only information which I got on my phone was that a serious accident involving a lorry and a cyclist had occurred.

So about an hour late arriving at Cheltenham College with day three of the Championship game between Gloucestershire and Leicester well under way. On the first two days the first innings totals were almost identical, Gloucester 218 and Leicester 215. The Australian Klinger was batting well when I arrived, but fell caught behind for 60. Enter a new name to me, Kieran Noema-Barnett no less, a 28 year old New Zealand all rounder, who bats left handed and bowls right. He joined Benny Howell, a former Hampshire player born in Bordeaux and this unlikely partnership not only steadied the ship but put Gloucester very much in control.

Cheltenham College

After a slow start the New Zealander started playing his shots to the surprise of some of the rather sceptical locals, before being caught off the persevering Shreck, who finished with 5-82. Howell in turn looked very confident and reached his first ever century after hitting twelve fours and a six. A fine innings and a good quiz question - when did a Frenchman score a century for Gloucester? The home side eventually all out shortly before lunch  for 321, which looked like a winning score.

Benny Howell celebrates his century

Even more so when Leicester lost Robson clean bowled by Miles for 6 and then Eckersley next ball caught by Klinger at slip. The other opener Boyce was given out lbw to Noema-Barnett and when Australian captain Cosgrove was lbw to Howell, the game seemed as good as over and I felt able to commence my Saturday afternoon tour of neighbouring league cricket grounds. Apparently only Ali with 41 put up much resistance and Gloucester won comfortably by 155 runs with time to spare.

One strange phenomenon of the festival,with a large crowd there on the Friday and sponsors tents bursting at the seams with guests, very few people turned up on Saturday morning to see the home side win and two sides of the ground were almost empty as the sponsors tents were all closed and no one to be seen.

Empty seats on last day at Cheltenham

The rest of the day was spent in a circular tour of Cheltenham and Gloucester, followed by the Forest of Dean area, visiting local club grounds and taking photographs of them all before reaching Ross-on-Wye my resting place for the night.

Suffice to say I visited Hatherley and Reddings on the outskirts of Cheltenham, in the past used for county second XI games, and their junior ground just down the road where their fourth team were in the process of scoring 400-1 in 45 overs!

Hatherley and Reddings pavilion

Then onto the Spa Ground in Gloucester, where Gloucester Winget were playing Frenchay in the upper echelons of the West of England premier league, and their third team were in action at the old Wagon Works ground once used by Gloucester for county matches, including one with Yorkshire which I attended in the days of Courtney Walsh.

The Wagon Works ground Gloucester

Following the other side of the Severn I called in at Westbury on Severn, then Lydney another former first class ground (home of Steve James), Parkend a real Forest of Dean village ground, Cinderford ( in the middle of an industrial estate) and finally Ross on Wye founded in 1837 and with an historic pavilion built in 1887.

Lydney cricket ground

Parkend, Forest of Dean

 

Ross on Wye

A fascinating day perhaps following in the footsteps of the wonderful cricket writer Nico Craven, who lived in Cumbria but was a Gloucester member and keen devotee not only of the Cheltenham festival but village cricket in Gloucestershire too. I was lucky enough to find five of his paper back books on sale at Cheltenham and have much entertaining reading to do.

Tour de Britain - Stage five

Posted by Tony Hutton

After leaving Sussex at tea time on Tuesday I took the early evening short ferry crossing from Lymington to Yarmouth in the Isle of Wight. This route well known to me for many years after regular holiday visits to Lymington and the New Forest area.

By Wednesday morning, 15th July,  I was in situ at the recently created Newclose County Cricket Ground just south of Newport, Isle of Wight. I did visit three or four years ago in the hope of seeing a three day match involving MCC Young Cricketers, but the whole match was washed out by rain. Fortunately this time the weather was fine and the two day game between Isle of Wight under 17s and Dorset under 17s got underway.

Newclose Ground Isle of Wight

I learned that it was some years since Isle of Wight won a game in this competition, but at several times during the two days they were in a position to win. They won the toss and put Dorset into bat. After an opening stand of 30 the decision paid off and wickets began to tumble 30-0 soon became 54-6 and Dorset were in trouble. Opening bowler George Willis took three of the early wickets and it was not until the appearance of the rather large figure of Robert Pack at number nine that things moved back in Dorset's favour.

Even at 115-9 Cornwall were still on top but Pack started to hit out and with number eleven Ross Tooley giving him good support Dorset added a further 37 runs for the last wicket. Pack hit four fours and two huge sixes to finish on 53 not out, while Tooley was finally bowled for only one. Second highest scorer was extras with 25 and Dorset finished on 152 all out in 44 overs.

Runs hard to come by at Newclose

Games in this competition are normally high scoring affairs with each side batting for only one innings and first innings points are usually the main concern. This game seemed headed for a proper two innings match and so it turned out. Three of the Island's four top batsman made good scores after the loss of an early wicket, Ben Herridge with 48, captain Jadon Buckeridge with 42 and top scorer Marcus Horton with 72. None of the others reached double figures and it was left to Horton, the last man out to see them into the first innings lead and a total of 194 in 63.1 overs

Very efficient scoreboard at Newclose

Dorset's best bowlers were the two left arm spinners, Clutterbook with 6-66 and Pack a miserly 0-31 off 15 overs. So with a first innings lead of 42 the Island team were full of confidence at the start of day two and with George Willis working up a good head of steam, wickets fell at regular intervals. When  Dorset's star man Jamie Price, who has already played Minor Counties cricket, was out for 34 you could feel the Island sensing victory. At 59-4 Dorset were only 17 runs ahead. Wickets continued to fall with spinner Buckeridge taking three and Dorset were almost down and out at 151-9, only 109 ahead.

However enter the big man, Robert Pack, yet again. Another last wicket stand this time with runs from number 11 Tooley as well, saw Pack take the bowling apart with five fours, four sixes and several lost balls. He top scored again this time with 61 not out and partner Tooley had 25 not out when Dorset finally declared on 240-9. They had felt at the start of play that a lead of 200 should see them home and Isle of Wight now required 199 to win.

Dorset's last wicket pair - Robert Pack on the left

Dorset set off in fine style when Owen Morris took two early wickets, but the Island side then dug in, happy to play for a draw and take the first innings points. At this point I had to leave to catch my evening ferry back to the mainland, but apparently I missed very little as the Dorset bowlers could not clinch victory. After 48 overs of defensive batting the Island total was 125-4 and the game ended in a draw.

Wicketkeeper Ben Baker batted 115 balls for 25 not out during an innings which contained 16 maiden overs, so a bit like watching paint dry for the handful of spectators. No doubt the Island were content with what amounted to a moral victory for them. So another splendid ground, with excellent facilities and one which hopes to stage Hampshire second XI games and possibly a one day first team fixture in the future.

Beyond the boundary - not sure whether they are llamas or alpacas

Tour de Britain - Stage four

Posted by Tony Hutton

Monday 13th July saw me travelling south following my three night stay in Banbury, a much changed town since I last visited on business in the late 1960s. I was heading for Sussex and the ground at Arundel Castle, which I thought was scheduled to hold a game against the Australian Crusaders today. They are regular visitors to this country during Ashes years and I had found the website with a very attractive itinerary mainly in the south of England.

Up till now everything had gone to plan, but knowing the Australians plans often change felt I should check. Fortunately I found a phone number for the Friends of Arundel Cricket. Unfortunately the lady who answered the phone said there was no cricket at Arundel today and she knew nothing about the Australian Crusaders, promptly ending our conversation.

Time to put plan B into operation. I headed a few miles further east to the attractive Downs village of Fulking (hope I have spelt that correctly!). This proved to be a most attractive spot as you can see from the picture, with a very impressive pavilion fully justifying its choice as venue for a county second XI game between Sussex and Glamorgan. This was the club of the late Spen Cama, who left a huge amount of money both to the club and to Sussex county cricket club, who have used it wisely in the improvements to the ground at Hove. A real benefactor of cricket.

Preston Nomads cricket club

The weather had been drizzly all morning and there was no play before lunch, but soon afterwards the players emerged. My second surprise of the day was to see them in coloured clothing whereas I was expecting day one of a three day championship game normally played in whites. However plans had been changed due to the late start and Thursday's second XI trophy game changed to Monday with the three day game to start tomorrow.

Unexpected coloured clothing

After all that it was a relief when play actually started with overs reduced to 34 per side. Glamorgan batted first after being inserted by Sussex and were soon 19-2 but Kettleborough (no relation to the umpire) who I had previously seen with Northants and Bedfordshire got his head down and made 31 before becoming the first victim of spinner Luke Wells, normally a first team opening bat. Wells is the son of former county captain Alan Wells and is described as an off spinner on Cricinfo. However today he looked suspiciously like a leg spinner.

Hard core spectators at Preston Nomads

His other claim to fame is apparently being the most sledged cricketer in England with an ability to get up other peoples noses! Not something I was aware of before. The new batsman was Ben Wright, a Lancastrian from Preston, who was captaining Glamorgan. He certainly got the show on the road with a hard hitting 62 off only 46 balls, with eleven fours, before Wells clean bowled him with what might have been a googly. That was 116-4 and apart from 22 from young wicketkeeper Milton, from Malvern Collage and 26 not out from the ubiquitous Joe Ellis Grewell, Leeds/Bradford University and many other clubs, batting at No. 10, not much else.

Whatever Luke Wells was bowling was highly successful and he finished with the remarkable figures of 7-1-21-6 whereas the more regular bowlers like Mike Yardy and Will Beer only collected one wicket between them. Glamorgan's innings rather tailed off and they finished at 178-9 in their 34 overs.

The weather was still not ideal and cold and miserable conditions did not seem to agree with the Glamorgan bowlers. They did dismiss opener Finch for a duck but after that they were taken apart by Ben Brown, 47 off 49 balls and Australian Test player, George Bailey, signed by Sussex for T20 duties, who smashed 109 not out off only 71 balls, with thirteen fours and five sixes. A bit like men against boys, Sussex winning by eight wickets in only 23.1 overs.

I returned the following day in somewhat better weather to see proper cricket, in whites, get underway. This time the Australian Bailey was rested and two young trialists were given a chance by Sussex, Alex Lilley another Leeds/Bradford University product, and Peter Burgoyne an off spinner from Derbyshire. It was a slow, hard graft day by Sussex with opener Harry Finch, another England Under 19 player getting 52 in just over two hours and then Burgoyne proving his worth as an all rounder with 76.

Dean Cosker bowling

A good long spell of left arm spin from veteran Dean Cosker during the afternoon saw him claim two wickets but the best figures went to off spinner Bull with 3-28. Sussex all out for 257. The cricket was nothing special, except for the wonderful surroundings. A real pleasure to have spent two days at this marvellous setting. I have since been told it must have changed considerably since my co-blogger John Winn played there many years ago.

Fulking - beyond the boundary

During the following two days, when I had moved on, Sussex won the game by 43 runs after Mike Yardy had scored 131 in their second innings before the declaration. Yardy himself declared a few days later announcing his retirement from first class cricket. Glamorgan made a good effort to get the 326 required to win but good bowling by the two trialists, Lilley with 4-26 and Burgoyne with 4-85 saw Sussex home, despite another 60 from Wright and  47 from Cosker.

Sky offers £40m for city-based T20 to rival IPL

Posted by John Winn

This morning's posting was to have described my trip to Harrogate yesterday to see Yorkshire Academy give the hosts a nine wicket thrashing and include a  review of the second division of the championship but both those items were put on hold when I turned to the sports section of The Observer and saw the headline which forms the title of this posting.


Both Sky and the ECB have declined to comment on the article, in itself a strong hint that it has legs, and as far back as February, and before he was installed as ECB Chairman, Colin Graves expressed his enthusiasm for a revamped competition based on cities rather than counties and  which by attracting overseas stars would rival IPL and Big Bash.

In today's article, its author Elizabeth Ammon, Leg Side Lizzie to tweeters, says that the ECB says no final decision has been made but Sky is thought to want the tournament to be played in a block in midsummer with evening matches between 8 teams representing cities. Ammon says there will be strong opposition from the counties, especially one imagines from those who are not in the eight and they might include some like Essex and Somerset who draw good crowds for the existing competition. A simplistic solution to the problem of selecting the eight is to say that it would be the existing grounds that host test matches and/or T20/ODIs except there are nine of those.

Amman suggests that the new competition might coexist with the current 18 county Nat West Blast and that space might be made in an already crowded competition by, wait for it, and I have saved the worst till last, reducing the number of championship games to 12, a drop of two home games for each county. If so, could that mean the end of first class cricket at Scarborough? Hard to see it hanging on to one let alone two games a season if Yorkshire have only 24 days to allocate. Other counties that use out grounds would have similar difficult decisions to make.

The new competition is too awful to contemplate although how successful it might be in a summer like the present one is questionable but those who have expressed their horror at the behaviour of some Friday night crowds can, I suggest, only expect worse if cities replace counties as organisations seeking our affections. For pcws who share my distress at this not unexpected news then I suggest if you have not already done so read today's postings from Brian and Tony and remind yourself that there will still be cricket being played in 2017, when the new tournament is likely to be introduced, cricket where every ball is not an event of high drama and where there is time for reflection and conversation.

Tour de Britain - Stage three

Posted by Tony Hutton

Sunday 12th July saw the first ever Unicorns Minor Counties T20 finals day at the pleasant ground of Banbury cricket club at White Post Road, Bodicote. Regular readers will be aware of my normal aversion to this form of the game, but this really was something completely different. For one thing the players were all in whites (no coloured clothing for once), there was no loud music and a pleasant atmosphere throughout. It also gave me the opportunity to see four Minor Counties sides in one day.

The first semi-final was between Cheshire and Devon. This started early, at 10.00 in fact, and Cheshire were put into bat by Devon, who must have thought chasing a known target would help them. Cheshire set off at eight an over and, despite the loss of openers Ollie Law and South African Warren Goodwin, by the eighth over they were 59-2. Skipper Lee Dixon then kept things going with a fine innings of 51 off only 31 balls, which included three fours and four sixes. After he was out at 133-6 Lamb and Brown, the wicketkeeper, kept things going until Brown was run out of the last ball of the innings. Final score 165-7 from 20 overs.

Early morning cloud at Banbury

The usually strong Devon side lost a wicket early on but a good partnership of 44 for the second wicket kept them going, although just behind the required rate. Then disaster struck when left arm spinner Dan Woods removed opener Woodman for 33 and two more wickets fell in the eleventh over to leave Devon 69-4. Wicketkeeper Matt Thompson kept them in the game with a fine 69 off only 31 balls, but received little support and three wickets from Rick Moore saw Devon finish on 156-8. Cheshire through to the final by 9 runs.

This was when my cunning plan came into operation. My researches had discovered that a few miles down the road at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock a friendly Sunday afternoon match was due to take place between Blenheim Park cricket club and Captain Scott's XI a well known, if eccentric, London based wandering side. The appeal for me was the photo opportunity of cricket in front of the huge palace building. So off I went.

It was not all plain sailing. Having paid the admission fee to the park and grounds the car park was quite a long walk from the house and after receiving directions found a difficult route through parts of the building. I eventually emerged onto the south lawn where the cricket was about to start after a slight shower of rain. So I got my pictures and spent some time watching the home side piling up the runs. Unfortunately the club's website only provides the information that Captain Scott's XI won, with no details of the scores. However a beautiful place and well worth the effort to get there.

Cricket at Blenheim Palace

By then it was time to drive back to Banbury to see the T20 final, but another bonus as the second semi-final had been delayed by rain and I was able to see the final overs of Oxfordshire v Bedfordshire. Oxford being very much the home side with quite a few Banbury players in their ranks. Bedford had apparently collapsed early on to 26-6 and despite a quick 55 from Hussain, only managed 106-7 in a curtailed innings of 14 overs. Oxford made light work of the Duckworth/Lewis target of 97 and won comfortably by seven wickets in only 12 overs. So the stage was now set for the final between Cheshire and Oxfordshire.

Goodwin begins the onslaught

What followed had to be seen to be believed. Cheshire won the toss and batted with Ollie Law, formerly with the Lancashire Academy a few years ago, and Warren Goodwin, born in Port Elizabeth but a Cheshire regular for many years. This pair took the Oxfordshire bowling attack apart in an amazing display of big hitting, particularly by Goodwin. He hit the ball to all corners of the ground and beyond and raced to his century with twelve fours and nine sixes, ending on 132 not out from 61 balls. His partner the very tall Ollie Law was not far behind completing his century from the last ball of the innings after hitting six fours and six sixes in his 101 not out from 59 balls.
The Cheshire total of 240-0 must be some kind of record.

Ollie Law celebrates his century

Cheshire's batting heroes Goodwin and Law

Needless to say after this onslaught Oxfordshire were somewhat shell shocked and were soon all out for 121 in 16.1 overs to leave Cheshire the winners by a massive 119 runs. The men who did most of the damage were Jack Williams with 4-17 and the skipper's brother Ross Dixon with 4-19. For once star bowler Dan Woods had only 1-24 to show for his efforts but it was a great all round team performance and no doubt the celebrations went on for some time. The whole day was a great advert for Minor Counties cricket and excellent entertainment for the substantial crowd.

BACK TO LEAGUE GROUNDS

By Brian Sanderson,

It was good to get back to see some local grounds with no rain forecast.The first ground was above and I remember playing cricket on the ground over fifty years ago and I scored fifty without by glasses as I had left them at home.In the book about the  history of the central yorkshire cricket league edited by Tony Woodhouse in 1987. It states  very little is known of the club,s history. Largely composed of village players, the club,s history can be traced back  some 110 to 115 years.

Today they are first division of the Yorkshire League and were playing East Leeds. On one side of the ground are some houses which are in easy six hit from the pitch.

Moving on to Dringhlington ground where the club used to play in the Bradford League but they are now in the Dales Council.In 1893 the club was formed and became members of the Central Yorkshire League. They were known as Drighlington St. Paul,s and played on the present ground which has always been owned by the church and held in trust for the club. Today there B team was playing Great Horton Park Chapel who won the match by one hundred runs.

Near to Dringlington is a Central Yorkshire side called Adwalton who were playing Mirfield A.The emblem for the club is army helmet from the English Civil War. It relates to a battle  which the Royalist defeated the Parliamentarians.It is the first time I had seen a disabled umpire.

Moving on to New Farnley were seconds were playing Keighley . We found that the home side were scoring 314 for 4 in 35 overs. A Thomas Suggitt scored 103 not out. I found out later the very young Keighley  side were bowled out for 88. When I played Keighley had a very strong second team and it now shows how  far the standards have dropped.

Moving on to the Dales Council League were Farnley Hill were playing Pudsey St. Lawrence third team.The ground is in the village of Tong and behind the Grayhound Pub.Tong cricket club folded in 2012 . A  proper village ground with a cricket pavilion.

Moving on to the Bradford Mutual Sunday School League were Yorkshire LPS were playing Great Horton Church . They play on the Woodhall Park which is Thornbury Bradford.They were formed in 1994.

Moving on to another club in the league Parkside who were playing Muff Field  in Bowling Park Bradford. The home side were winning the match easily. The facilities are very limited but they were enjoying their cricket.

On the way back home we called into Farsley who were playing Bradford and Bingley. The home side were getting beaten easily.However after we left James Wainman scored 129 not out but they still lost by 55 runs.

Another interesting six hours visiting eight grounds.