Yorkshire supporters took much pleasure earlier this season when on May 30th at Headingley Gary Ballance took his overnight score of 83 against Hampshire to 100 before he was lbw to Crane thus completing centuries in five consecutive championship matches. The run came to an end the following week at the same venue when he was left 51 not out in a rain interrupted match with Essex. To find the start of this purple patch we must go back to the final match of the 2018 season played at New Road. Here Ballance hit 194 in Yorkshire's first innings. The second, third and fourth centuries came in the opening three matches of this season against Notts, Hampshire and Kent respectively. Only Joe Root stands above Ballance in the first division averages and Gary's aggregate of 609 is exceeded only by that of South African Marnus Labuschagne who has scored 653 against second division attacks for Glamorgan.
At the time that Ballance reached this milestone some media sources made reference to another Yorkshire man still revered in the county although his playing career came to an end in 1955 and he died in 1990, namely Len Hutton. Sir Leonard went two better than Ballance for starting in the final two matches of 1947 and continuing into 1948 he reached three figures in seven consecutive championship matches. Len's seven were as follows:
1. v Essex at Southend August 27th to 29 1947, match drawn. Dropped on nought in the first innings Hutton scored 197 and 104 in his second knock. A curiosity of this match was that Doug Insole, later to play in nine tests for England as a batsman went in at nine for Essex
2. v Hants at Bournemouth August 30th to September 1st match drawn. In his only innings Hutton played his highest innings of the season, 270 not out, and put on 273 for the fifth wicket with Yardley who hit 136.
Although this match marked the end of the championship season Len showed his liking for sea air when in the same week as the Bournemouth match he scored 109 in the second innings of Yorkshire v MCC at Scarborough. The following week he captained the Players v Gentlemen at North Marine Road and in his only innings scored 64. Even Homer nods. The final match of this festival , HDG Leveson Gower's XI v South Africans, was not played because 'owing to shipping conditions which compelled them to return home earlier than arranged the tourists could not fulfil this fixture'
3. v Northamptonshire at Huddersfield May 12th to 14th 1948. Hutton contributed 100 not out to an unbroken first wicket stand of 167 with Harry Halliday as Yorkshire won by ten wickets.
4. v Lancs at Leeds May 15th to 18th. Match drawn. After Lancashire's score of 450, Washbrook 170, Yorkshire struggled to save the match with Hutton scoring 100 in their first innings.
5 v Sussex at Sheffield May 29th and 31st. Having missed two games Len returned to action with 176 not out in a game won in two days with Sussex having no answer to the wiles of Johnny Wardle.
6 v Middlesex at Lord's June 5th to 8th, Yorkshire won by an innings and 80 runs. Hutton 133 with Yardley and Watson both hitting good scores. Nine wickets in the match for Ellis Robinson and eight for Wardle.
7. v Essex at Westcliff June 30th to July 2nd. Having missed a number of matches Hutton returned to county action with 103 in the first innings in a match Yorkshire won by seven wickets.
The run finally came to an end in a match with Surrey at Bramall Lane on July 3rd and 5th for having scored only 15 in the first innings Len was denied a second bite at the cherry by Surrey's poor batting, dismissed for only 42 in their first innings they lost by an innings and 139 runs in two days. The biggest loser however was Frank Smailes whose benefit match this was and who after receipts of £1423 on the Saturday was denied a third day's gate money.
Yesterday I spent a couple of hours in York watching Clifton Alliance play their very near neighbours York CC. The game was interestingly poised when, like so many other matches it was spoilt by rain. I took the opportunity to check out arrangements for tomorrow's historic match when championship cricket will be played on York's ground for the first time. Things seem to be well in hand as these picture show.
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