Still waiting to see our first ball bowled this season after the predictable cancellation of the game at Headingley between Yorkshire and Leeds/Bradford MCCU this weekend. This was the student's second wash out after their visit to Worcestershire was also abandoned. League cricket in Yorkshire seems to be getting later and later, with Aire/Wharfe league pushing opening day back from 14th April to 21st April and Yorkshire Premier League North and York and District League now starting a week later on April 28th. No doubt other leagues will follow suit as the wet conditions take their toll.
However off field activity continues to entertain us starting with the Northern Cricket Society annual dinner at Sandmoor Golf Club, Leeds on 20th March. The guest speaker was non other than Farook Engineer replacing the original choice Paul Nixon, who is now obviously busy organising Leicestershire County Cricket club. Farook was in splendid form with endless tales of his cricketing career with Lancashire and India.
The following evening at Headingley we saw a presentation by the Yorkshire Film Archive with a film originally shown on ITV some years ago following the fortunes of Pudsey St Lawrence in the Bradford League. Lots of familiar faces from the past in a wonderful documentary of the life of a league cricket club. However the highlight of the evening was the late arrival of Brian Sanderson, of the Yorkshire Archives Committee, hot foot from London with a mysterious parcel under his arm.
This proved to be a real treasure, on loan to Yorkshire from MCC, the bat with which Sir Leonard Hutton scored his record 364 against Australia at the Oval. Tony Moss, from Pudsey St Lawrence, Sir Leonard's original club, was obviously delighted to have the chance to hold this treasured memento as seen in the picture below.
The Yorkshire Film Archive is always looking for film of Yorkshire life from the past, not just of sporting events, but at least it gave me an idea where to deposit my old collection of sporting videos.
Saturday 24th March and we were at Headingley yet again for the Yorkshire county cricket club annual general meeting. Quite a pleasant occasion with assurances from all concerned that this season will be better than last and that a lot of hard work has gone into pre-season training. It was a bit difficult to take in all the projections for future repayment of the club's considerable debts, but there did seem a general air of confidence that things will improve in the next few years.
I did have some differences of opinion on social media last season with the Yorkshire chairman, but must congratulate him on his running of the meeting throughout with a general air of efficiency and humour as well. Well done Steve Denison.
Next on the agenda was the Northern Cricket Society's final meeting of the winter season with John Fuller, a professional cricket journalist who runs an excellent website - Cricket Yorkshire. John gave an excellent presentation of how he works and how he put together his recent book - All Wickets Great and Small - on grassroots cricket in Yorkshire. Very much a must read book for all professional cricket watchers. He also fielded very capably with a barrage of questions on all sorts of cricketing subjects.
Finally Friday 6th April rounded off this pre-season lull very nicely with an excellent Yorkshire county cricket club lunch again at Headingley in the Long Room. A very large turnout enjoyed a good meal with views of the new stand quickly growing before our eyes at the Rugby side of the
ground. Stars of the show were the two guest speakers Matthew Hoggard and Geoff Miller.
Hoggard protested that he had been put on a table with Yorkshire's Director of cricket who sacked him and former Chairman of England selectors who dropped him, but kept everyone amused with his tales of his part in that great Ashes win, after which the drunken celebrations went on and on.
Geoff Miller could have been a professional comedian and some might say he has had far more success as an after dinner speaker than he did as a player or test selector. However he really did have the audience rolling in the aisles with laughter at his stories of Derbyshire and England cricket from years gone by, including the famous snow stopped play game at Buxton. A great occasion.
So there we are - still waiting for the action to start - hopefully on Friday next when we might well be spoilt for choice, Yorkshire v Essex at Headingley and just up the road Leeds/Bradford MCCU v Derbyshire at Weetwood, the ground of Leeds University. Just hoping for some dry weather and even just possibly some sunshine.
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