When does league cricket start?

posted by John Winn

Traditionally most leagues in Yorkshire start on the third Saturday in April which this year falls on the 16th. Conforming to this tradition in 2016 are the following:

Aire-Wharfe, Wetherby, NYSD,* Darlington and District, Yorkshire Premier, York, Bradford, Huddersfield, Craven, Nidderdale, South Yorkshire ** Pontefract


*NYSD Sunday League starts April 10th
** There is one match on Saturday 9th Shiregreen III v Frecheville II

And elsewhere North East Premier and Greater Manchester also start on April 16th

April 23rd Langbaurgh (Second Division only), York Vale, Dales Council, Bradford Sunday School,

April 24th Scarborough Beckett (Premier only) and then Saturday 30th, Huddersfield Central, Pennine League

There is one game in the Durham Cricket League on April 23rd Philadelphia II v Crook II with a full programme the following Saturday.

Please check before you travel.

There are some interesting preseason friendlies before league programmes start and we will try to bring you a list of these in the April fixtures.

Opening Day

posted by John Winn

The cricket season begins just two weeks tomorrow, Tuesday April 5th*, when the opening first class matches will be played on home soil including Durham v Durham MCCU at the Riverside. Of course there is cricket before that, MCC take on Yorkshire in Abu Dhabi next week and as early as this Thursday , March 17th , a Gloucestershire XI will be facing Oxford University in The Parks and if you are very tall you may get a glimpse of Derbyshire v Yorkshire at The County Ground in the week after Easter but  in my book anything before April 5th is 'pre-season'.

There are those who contest my view that the season begins even as early as April 5th and I have crossed tweets during the winter with Martin Emmerson, cricket commentator for BBC Newcastle who is prepared to inflict another five days waiting on himself by insisting that the season does not begin until April 10th when the County Championship programme gets underway. And no doubt there will be those who feel things don't really get going until league cricket resumes on April 17th (in most cases) or those who wait until the football season ends before thinking about the summer game.

Contrast this with baseball, busy at the moment with spring training which is fully reported in the US media building up to 'Opening Day' on April 4th and described by Wikipedia as a 'symbol of rebirth' and 'a chance to forget last season'. There is even a book by Thomas Boswell entitled 'Why Time Begins on Opening Day'.  Fixtures for this year's opener have been known since before the end of last season and in Cincinnati the annual Findlay Market Parade is taken by nearly all residents as a holiday to cheer the Reds, the only team to always open the season with a home game.

Opening Day games typically feature appearances by retired players, local celebrities, politicians etc and in recent years the ceremonial opening pitch has often been thrown by the President., a tradition going back more than 100 years. I am not suggesting that next year we get the Prime Minister, whoever that might be, to bowl the first delivery but surely we can do better than the current dog's breakfast where the domestic first class season begins with what are generally hopeless mismatches unworthy of the 'first class label' and the traditional season opener is played 3500 miles away from Lord's. How about for 2017, when we will be on a reduced diet of first class cricket, restoring the MCC v County Championship game to St John's Wood and following it up with a full round of championship matches in both divisions? If as proposed there will be an eight teams in Div 1 and ten in Div 2 all counties could be involved and if only for one moment all would be level.

* apologies for since writing this piece this morning I have discovered that the match between Oxford MCCU and Worcestershire in The Parks on Thursday 31st March is first class.

Not a good week for cricket

Posted by Tony Hutton

The small army of professional cricket watchers, probably getting smaller by the day, have not had a good week. The first item of bad news was the announcement of plans for the 2017 season which, among other things, will see a reduction of county championship cricket in the first division. Despite noises from several counties (Yorkshire among them) that this would be a bad thing, the money men have as expected won the day.

The re-action to this seems to have been rather muted, although in this part of the world there is consternation about the number of championship games at Scarborough being reduced from two to one. It is still not really clear when the championship cricket will be played as the fifty over games are to be in April and May. It will be a relief if proper cricket can be played in proper cricketing weather, but that is perhaps wishful thinking.

However the new season is approaching rapidly and travel plans have already been made. Too soon perhaps, as anothe slap in the face was on the horizon. Derbyshire county cricket club calmly announced that their two pre-season friendly games with Leicestershire and Yorkshire would be played at Derby behind closed doors! This was due to health and safety considerations surrounding the building of a new media centre.

For those of us planning to attend both games (not very many to be sure) the first question was why could not the northern half of the ground be closed, leaving the rest to provide room for the hard core spectators. The second question was why could the games not have been moved to other grounds either in Derbyshire or at their opponents grounds. No answer to these questions has yet been received. Although Derbyshire have now announced that the ground will be open for their game with Durham MCCU on the 11th of April. No thanks is my response to that - I will be elsewhere.

One thing is certain that the travelling cricket watchers will get a warmer welcome at Trent Bridge or Durham when the fixtures overlap, as they often do. Before all this happens we now have an exciting Yorkshire AGM back in the frame after years of sweetness and light (well almost). Mr. Boycott's return to the fray seems to have stirred a few people into action but the fact that the members are being instructed how they should vote may prove to be counter productive.

More bad news has now come in the death of Don Robson, the man who was the mastermind behind Durham's application for first class status. I remember well his visit to the Northern Cricket Society at Headingley some years ago when he told the story of how this great event took place. He left a lasting impression with his enthusiasm and wise words. A great loss not just for Durham but cricket as a whole.

Of course earlier in the week we had snow and more heavy rain which will not have helped all those clubs in the North of England still trying to repair the damage of the winter floods. There does seem to be good news coming out of Carlisle where a lot of work has been done and they are hoping to start the league programme on time and be ready to stage a Cumberland Minor Counties game on 5th June. Good luck to them and all the other clubs who have suffered.

First find your cricket ground

Posted by Tony Hutton

The arrival of various pre-season publications has whetted the appetite for the six months of cricket which will soon be upon us. For the professional cricket watcher the search for obscure village cricket grounds throughout the land remains a constant geographical challenge. However the wonderful google earth site can answer most questions even when old fashioned methods like asking long term village residents the innocent question 'Can you tell me where the cricket ground is?' fail to bring any response.

The current trend of re-naming cricket grounds can add to the confusion. Just consider such names as Emirates Durham ICG, 3aaa County Ground, Ageas Bowl and worst of all the Brighton and Hove Jobs.com County Ground. In a previous existence they were known as Riverside (or Chester le Street), Derby County Ground, the Rose Bowl or Southampton even and plain Hove.

Going further down the cricketing pecking order we now have similar problems. The new County 2nd XI yearbook reveals several classic examples. First prize must go to a newcomer on the scene EFSG (although research suggests EFCG) Portland Road. Now I can remember Portland Road in Birmingham being the home of Mitchell & Butlers CC in the Birmingham League many years ago. The ground has now happily been restored by Warwickshire and goes under the name of the Edgbaston Foundation Community Ground.

If you venture further south to Canterbury you might wonder where Polo Farm Sports Club is or where to find Birley's Field. The first is the home of Canterbury cricket club and the second is at King's School. The one that perhaps deserves a visit most is the Spen Cama Memorial Ground, Fulking on the Sussex Downs which I can heartily recommend. Also worth seeking out are the John Fretwell Sporting Complex, Sookholme Road, Sookholme the home of Welbeck CC in deepest Nottinghamshire and the John Findlay Memorial Ground at Walmley (Warwickshire).

Those looking for Notts Sports Club will find it close to Trent Bridge. It was previously known as Lady Bay or Boots Sports ground. The newly created Yorkshire Premier Leagues, North and South, also have a few examples. Sheffield United and Rotherham Phoenix have combined and will play at the Graham Solley Development Centre, which turns out to be United's old Bawtry Road ground. In the Northern section Hull CC now reside at Ferens Recreation Centre which is just a new name for their ground on Chanterlands Avenue.

So it goes on and I can only wish you well for the coming season, whether you explore off the beaten track or just stay at home at your local club (much easier but less rewarding). Let's all hope for good weather and good cricket.