I must go back to Scruton

posted by John Winn

                                                                                             

 It is reasonable to argue that with out the above book there would be no blog for following a suggestion from Peter Davies of Huddersfield University these three cricket enthusiasts, two alas no longer with us, kept a diary of their cricket watching from January 11th 2006 to Boxing Day of that year. I have marked inside my well read copy July 2007 and I remember very clearly that I purchased the book from the late Molly Staines before play began in a match at Stamford Bridge. From May of the following year I kept records of grounds visited mainly in the three leagues nearest to my home, the Wetherby, Nidderdale and Aire Wharfe but also dipping my toes into the Bradford League and York Senior.

By 2010, having pretty well wrapped up the grounds within fairly easy reach of home I ventured further afield and on July 17th I made acquaintance with the Langbaurgh League, a league based on the area of the old Wapentake of Langbaurgh in the former North Riding but which now includes clubs from County Durham and Cleveland. On that day I visited Hutton Rudby, Crathorne, East Harley and Kirby Sigston, four grounds close to the A19 between Northallerton and Yarm. A month later I saw Scruton, between Northallerton and the A, playing Chop Gate and Thimbleby near Osmotherly taking on Ingleby Greenhow, both matches in the second division. 

From the following year all my visits are recorded in the blog and although the demise of the Cleveland League brought in new clubs, just in time to beat the pandemic games at Dormanstown and Danby completed the set. Sadly there have been casualties and Ingleby Greenhow, Crathorne, Malyby, Scruton, Skelton Castle and Swainby have all fallen by the way side. This has been offset by the arrival of Ingleby Barwick and Castleton, a ground I played on in 1968. Scruton is an interesting case for as I reported in the blog on February 2nd 2016 the club resigned from the Langbaurgh at that years AGM but continued to play evening cricket in the Wensleydale League. I had visited the home of Trevor Howe, then chairman of Scruton CC, in 2012 and was treated to a display of club memorabilia and a tour of their splendid pavilion, complete with museum. 

I have not seen cricket at Scruton's ground since my visit 13 years ago but the news that Northallerton are this year entering a third XI in the Darlington and District League and will play their matches just five miles away at Scruton has prompted me to promise myself a long overdue trip to that part of North Yorkshire.  . 

                                                                                   

The Wensleydale league in 1991, only three of these villages put out Saturday sides today.