Weekend of Nostalgia

 Posted by Tony Hutton

I hope I can be forgiven both for looking back in time and also mentioning two other sports which rarely get into these columns. The nostalgia kicked in last Friday morning when walking in Roundhay Park, Leeds. I saw two groundsmen at work on the Roundhay Oval cricket ground, rarely used in recent years. They were not only cutting a wicket but marking out the creases obviously ready for some serious action, with a boundary already clearly marked out.

The significance of this for me is that this is the ground where I was introduced to cricket by my grandfather way back during the wartime years of the 1940s, when Jack Appleyard's charity matches attracted huge crowds every Sunday afternoon. Determined not to miss out we set out early on Saturday afternoon, only to find all the car parks surrounding the ground full to capacity. A devious route away from the crowds eventually led to us viewing the Oval from the excellent vantage point of Hill 60 to see two teams, in whites, already in action.

Leeds Gladiators batting at Roundhay Oval.

It turned out that the match was between Leeds Gladiators, an ethnic minority team, who had success last season in winning a Leeds based 100 ball competition and Scarcroft second eleven in Division Two of the Leeds Wetherby league. Apparently they run two teams and the Roundhay Oval is to be their home ground each Saturday for the rest of the season, together apparently with other Asian teams turning out on Sundays. So delighted to see the ground where it all began for me, and where I played evening cricket many years later, back in action on a regular basis.

Another view of the Roundhay Oval.

Mention of my grandad, James Matthew Cowan, who was badly wounded and gassed during the First World War, brings me on to Sunderland football club, the team he followed throughout his life, particularly during the inter-war period. How delighted he would have been with their victory at Hillsborough which took them through to the play off final and hopefully the first step in their climb back up the leagues. He not only took me to my first cricket, but also my first soccer match at Elland Road in 1946.

It didn't stop there. By this time the nostalgia bug had really taken over when Huddersfield Rugby League club got through to the Challenge Cup Final on Saturday. This brought me back to 1949 when I was supporting them in another semi-final at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, which they lost after the reserve full back dropped the ball behind his own line. I was devastated at the time and still remember it to this day. Let's hope they can do it this time against Wigan at the Spurs' new ground rather than Wembley.

Back to some sort of reality on Sunday when a visit to York cricket club, saw three games going on. Firstly the strong York side were taking on Beverley Town in the Viking Cup, for teams from the two Yorkshire Leagues, North and South. The strong York batting line up with scores of 87 from Duncan Snell and 89 from Ryan McKendry totalled 290-6 in 40 overs. This proved far too many for the league newcomers.

On the neighbouring number two pitch, with the new Dan Woods pavilion, York University ladies were in action against a Clifton Alliance and York combined side, while over the fence, the next door neighbours Clifton Alliance fourth eleven were in action against Hemingborough seconds in the York Vale League. So plenty going on at all levels.

The Dan Woods pavilion on York's second ground.

Finally back to the nostalgia, this time of a more recent vintage. Harry Brook is having a tremendous season for Yorkshire and there is much talk of him making the England team this season. I have already seen him make two admirable hundreds and my mind went back to his younger days when I saw him make two more. I had to check my records, but there they were back in 2012. Firstly I saw him score 108 not out for Ilkley Grammar School in the Yorkshire Post schools trophy final at Headingley and a fortnight later he scored 103 not out for the Aire Wharfe under 13 side at Addingham cricket club.

Harry Brook at Addingham 2012.