A coastal cricket holiday

by Brian Sanderson

The ACS’s latest publication, a lively history of cricket in Suffolk by Simon Sweetman, is now available for purchase on our website. Buy it here.

After a twelve-week hiatus, I woke up relishing the opportunity to watch County Championship cricket once again. The picturesque Scarborough setting by the sea only added to my excitement. Today’s clash featured Yorkshire against table-topping Sussex—a chance for redemption after Yorkshire’s near-miss in the previous encounter at Hove.

Yorkshire were pleased to welcome back Jonny Bairstow, Adam Lyth and Jordon Thompson from a competition called—let me check my notes—“The Hundred.” Perhaps you have heard of it. Bairstow’s last first-class match was in India on March 7.

Meanwhile, on the Sussex side, Indian left-arm medium bowler Jaydev Unadkat and former Yorkshire player Ollie Robinson added intrigue to the contest.

Setting off from Leeds around eleven o’clock, braving a poor weather forecast and the assorted roadblocks put up by the Leeds Festival, I arrived around three o’clock, and found Sussex at the crease, struggling at 85 for four. There had been fireworks, clearly, on the pitch, and they were complemented by the sound of real fireworks in a nearby park, commemorating the sinking of the Graf Spee:

The brisk crosswind made the temperature feel more like October, serving as a reminder that the County Championship season will conclude in just four weeks.

Tom Alsop stood out, displaying his class—although I discovered that he had survived a big chance while I was on the road. He and John Simpson sought to anchor the innings, but Simpson fell for sixteen, caught at midwicket. Alsop, however, continued to bat brilliantly while wickets tumbled at the other end. When bad light halted play, Sussex were 187 for nine, with Alsop unbeaten on 84.

Rain looms overnight, so there may be another delay in the morning. You can catch up on today’s play here:

Brian Sanderson is an ACS member. He serves on the Yorkshire Cricket Archives Committee. If you would like to contribute to this newsletter, please either respond to the email in which you received it, or leave a comment below.