Headingley visit brings memories alive

 Posted by Tony Hutton

Having cancelled a proposed visit to Lord's for the Middlesex v Durham game, like John Winn I was at Headingley for much of the game with Warwickshire. Not quite the celebration of yet another major birthday I had planned, but one which brought back many memories from the past. The first surprise came with a chance conversation with a gentleman of the same age, who recalled being at Headingley for the first Test Match after the war with South Africa in 1947. Like me he has almost total recall of how the unlikely pairing of Bill Edrich and Harold Butler opened the bowling for England and got the visitors all out before the close of day one. Then the huge roar from the crowd as Hutton and Washbrook appeared to open the England innings and Hutton went on to score a century.

Birthday sunshine at Headingley.

The next surprise came on day three (Saturday) when I was presented with a birthday card from my friends and colleagues on the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation Reminiscing Zoom series which kept many of us sane during lockdown and thereafter. Included inside the card was the scorecard of another game between Yorkshire and Warwickshire which took place at Edgbaston on the day I was born!

On this occasion the game ended in a high scoring draw with Warwickshire taking first innings points just before the end of the game. Amazingly of the twenty two players involved I managed to see thirteen of them in action, either in wartime charity games, post war county cricket or Birmingham League games. Famous names like R.E.S. Wyatt and Tom Dollery scored centuries for Warwickshire and Frank Smailes, batting at number eight made a rare one for Yorkshire.

On lunchtime of the same day I was invited to attend a session in the Yorkshire Museum hosted by Yorkshire Archives expert Brian Sanderson, who talked us through several fascinating scorecards of previous Yorkshire v Warwickshire games with many memorable names from the past, together with others perhaps long forgotten. One of the names which cropped up for Warwickshire in 1946 was Eric Houghton, the famous Aston Villa and Notts County winger from pre-war days, who later became manager of Aston Villa and continued to play second eleven cricket for Warwickshire into the 1950s.

So many great memories from the past but what about the current game. The most welcome aspect for me was that Yorkshire fielded a side made up almost entirely of home grown players, with Dom Bess the only import on the field. Added to this with two notable former Yorkshire Academy players in the visiting side in Will Rhodes and Oliver Hannon Dalby it made one realise just how much the Academy has given to the English game over the years. How sad that they were withdrawn from the Yorkshire League North at a very late date this season, when the fixtures had already been announced, due one understands not to the most appropriate of motives.

Will Rhodes and Oliver Hannon-Dalby in one day mode for Warwickshire.

How good to see Will Rhodes score his century on the final day, along with Sam Hain, an achievement which must have given him great pleasure. Hannon-Dalby almost bowled himself into the ground, including a most economical early spell which had Adam Lyth almost scoreless for long periods. However full marks to the man from Whitby for sticking with it and coming good with his much needed century in the end.

Root, Lyth and Brook alongside wicketkeeper Duke.

The other highlight for me was to see Matt Revis score a most confident first half century and to bowl well into the bargain. The 'Sedbergh three' of Brook, Hill and Revis will be ones to watch hopefully for a long time to come. The saddest part of the game was saying our goodbyes to fellow spectators, saying 'See you again in September', when as John Winn has pointed out the next championship cricket will be played at Headingley.

The stalemate of day four did however bring to mind a similar event which took place as long ago as 1949, when Sussex batted out the last day to achieve a draw of similar proportions. Reference to Wisden recalls that Yorkshire bowled out Sussex for 181 before making 520-7 (Vic Wilson 157 not out and Ted Lester 112). Sussex then lost three wickets fairly cheaply before James Langridge 133 not out and George Cox 212 not out batted out the final five hours twenty minutes. All ten Yorkshire players, with the exception of wicketkeeper Jack Firth had a bowl, but to no avail.