April 2020 Issue 146 The Yorkshire Cricketers Lucky Enough To Have Played Some Cricket in 2020. The Academy in South Africa 1 Contents Editorial page 3 Dates for Your Diary page 4 Yorkshire CCC AGM page 6 News from Headingley page 7 My First Cricket Book page 10 So What Do We Do in the Meantime? Page 16 2 Editorial I have commented before that one of the problems of writing these editorials is that their content can become out of date by the time the issue lands on members’ doormats. Never, however, has that seemed more likely than now. So please accept that any comments which follow were set down on March 31st. If they turn out to be incorrect, I desperately hope they will have erred on the side of pessimism. At the time of writing it would be optimistic to look forward to the 2020 season at all. It is becoming clear that if there is cricket, the priorities will be those forms of the game which generate most cash income, which are not, by and large, those which attract the support of SG members. We may all feel differently later. Is it possible to have cricket withdrawal symptoms so severe that you are drawn inexorably to try The Hundred? At present I’m afraid that my fears for the future of the game are such that anything that keeps it alive into 2021 is welcome. So far, I am not aware that any YCCC employee has contracted the virus, but its impact is clearly massive, with pre-season training curtailed, staff sent home, and the usual pre-season tour cancelled. Andrew Gale and his wife have offered their services as NHS volunteers, for which they should receive great credit. It is not straightforward to volunteer, particularly when you are parents of a young family. The Club website is doing its best to make supporters feel involved and valued, with reports on anything happening, players’ contributions, quiz questions, and memories of past matches. As far as SG affairs are concerned, we have decided to publish details of possible events. This is done in hope, clearly all depends on factors outside our control. As June Hirst says below, if it turns out that the match can take place, so too can our Event. Among those things which cannot happen however is the AGM. I had anticipated that this would be my last editorial as Chairman, but it seems that the election of my successor must await events, so for the moment I continue, like one of those post-war European monarchs in exile, awaiting better times. I hope I don’t have to wait as long or hopelessly as they did. 3 It is always nice to finish on a positive note, so I will conclude with expressing our pleasure at the election at the YCCC AGM of Janet Bairstow as a Vice-President, and of Geoff Cope to another term as Club President. Warm congratulations to both. And above all, the very best wishes to all members. Take care of yourselves. DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2020 June Hirst The ECB announcement last month, cancelling all first class cricket until 28 May, coupled with the on-going Coronavirus pandemic, means that this year’s cricket season is at best curtailed, and at worst cancelled. Our early match events at Chelmsford on 19 April and Northampton on 23 May will obviously not now take place. We are trying to remain positive about the rest of the season and therefore give details below of events already booked at Scarborough, Cheltenham and Leicester in case there is play. Please follow the news regarding the fixtures and what is happening after 28 May. All we can say at the time of going to press (end March) is that if the game is on we will be holding the events, if not obviously we won’t. Application forms are enclosed for these three events, but please do not send them or your cheque to June Hirst until the ECB gives details about the county championship programme after the end of May. MONDAY, 15 JUNE – SCARBOROUGH This is the second day of the county championship Roses match against Lancashire and we have booked a table for lunch in the Pavilion dining room. A two course lunch will be £31.00 per person; no tickets will be issued, but applications will be acknowledged by email. Ground admission, if applicable, is payable separately, either beforehand or on the gate. If you would like to join us, please return the enclosed application form with your cheque to June as soon as we hear that the match is going ahead. 4 SUNDAY, 5 JULY – CHELTENHAM Please note that this event is now taking place on SUNDAY, 5 JULY not Monday 6 July as previously indicated. This county championship match against Gloucestershire gives us an opportunity to support the Cheltenham Cricket Festival, being held at the Cheltenham College Sports Ground, Thirlestaine Road, Cheltenham GL53 7AB. We have been able to book a maximum of 20 places for the Southern Group in the Charlton King’s Club marquee at a “Yorkshire Package” day hospitality price of £45.00 per person, including VAT, ground admission, a two course lunch with half a bottle of wine and boundary seating. We are expecting this to be a popular event if it takes place, so applications will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. As for Scarborough above, please do not return the enclosed application form and your cheque until we know that the match is going ahead. There is parking in the car park at the College Lawn entrance to the ground if a parking pass has already been purchased – available on-line at www.gloscricket.co.uk - or in the nearby Reeves Field for £8 for the day. There may also be nearby unrestricted street parking on a Sunday. Cheltenham Spa railway station is about one mile from the ground. SUNDAY, 2 AUGUST – LEICESTER (one day cup) At the time of writing, there is some doubt as to whether this competition will go ahead this year. We wait to hear at the end of May. We have booked a two course lunch at £18.00 per person in the Charles Palmer Restaurant at this Royal London 50 over match against Leicestershire, being held at the Fischer County Ground, Grace Road, Leicester LE2 8EB. The innings break is expected to be around 2.15pm, when the caterers give priority to lunch for the players and match officials. Our booking will therefore be before this time and members will be notified when they book. Ground admission is payable separately; this is £12.00 in advance bookable on-line at leicestershireccc.co.uk or £15.00 on the gate. 5 There is car parking on the ground, and spaces can be booked on-line in advance via their Ticket Office; or on nearby roads around the ground with a single yellow line as it’s a Sunday match. As before, please wait until you know whether the match is going ahead before you send in your application form and cheque. SATURDAY, 29 AUGUST – TAUNTON and MONDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER – HEADINGLEY Information about these two events will be in the July newsletter. June’s address is 5 Stanhope House, 38-40 Shepherds Hill, London N6 5RR. If you have any queries about any of these events please email her at her (new) email address - [email protected] TUESDAY, 5 MAY – ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Because of the Coronavirus restrictions, this has been postponed until later in the year, the date to be advised. SATURDAY, 10 OCTOBER – ANNUAL LUNCH We are hopeful that this can go ahead as planned. Adam Lyth and his wife will be our guests on this occasion. At the time of writing, everything is very uncertain and no-one knows what will happen in the next two or three months. We hope to be able to run some of our events this year, but in the meantime, please keep your eye on the news and any further ECB announcements. 6 Yorkshire County Cricket Club AGM March 2020 Mike Brown I attended the AGM using the online link available to members and have to say it worked well. The meeting was delayed by the 30 minutes allowed for in the rules waiting for a 20th member who was en-route to join the meeting to make it quorate so we started just in time at about 10.30 am. In the interim, Mark Arthur (CEO) explained that the club were now in a strong financial position which would help them ride out the current crises. Martyn Moxon gave us an update on how the players were training at home to keep themselves as fit as they possibly could. It was difficult in this fast moving situation to predict what would happen to the County Championship but one outcome is that we only play the white ball versions of the game. Once the meeting started, it was very brief and no reports were given. All the information was in the AGM pack. The salient points were: Janet Bairstow was made the club’s first female Vice President. Geoff Cope was re-elected as President. The Board members put forward, which included Mark Arthur, were all elected. There were new auditors. Robin Smith retired as Chairman. That was about it – very short and to the point. Members has been advised previously that the AGM would deal with the business it needed to according to the rules and would be very short.