Back at Headingley

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It was a delight to step into Headingley Stadium after more than three months since the last Championship game against Glamorgan. Today, I was part of the Museum staff, and it was heartening to see crowds queuing up to buy tickets. It promised to be a beautiful morning and an exciting match. Scorecards were sold out by 10:45.

I went the match with Ian Lockwood, who is working on a book about Edmund Peate, the Yorkshire and England left-arm bowler, and the first groundsman at Headingley. I highly recommend that readers purchase the book when it is released at the end of the year.

I brought along an image of Tommy Summersgill winning a bike race at Headingley. Tommy also scored the first goal at Headingley in 1890, a piece of history that always fascinates me.

Yorkshire won the toss and started off at a good rate before Finlay Bean played on for 27. Ten overs later, Adam Lyth was out lbw for 61 with the score at 105. By lunch, Yorkshire was 150 for 2 with James Wharton and Will Luxton at the crease. During the lunch break, I returned to the museum and spent a pleasant fifteen minutes talking to a Middlesex supporter about the history of Yorkshire cricket. The rest of the time I engaged with Yorkshire members about the memorabilia in the museum, which is always a pleasure.

I then walked home, which is just around the corner, to get my sandwiches. Upon returning, I found that James Wharton was out for forty, soon followed by Will Luxton. Jonny Bairstow walked in; we wondered what mood he was in. No worries: he soon settled in and played some beautiful shots.

I took Ian up to the new stand behind the bowler’s arm. It is very high, so I only went down one step. It offers a good view, and we could see that there was no movement in the wicket.

After tea, we moved to the Trueman stand on the other side of the ground, which is in the shade, and settled down to watch the Yorkshire batting. By the end of the day, George Hill and Jonny Bairstow had taken the total to 372 for 5; Jonny was 107 not out, and George Hill was 58 not out. The total was exactly what I had hoped for at the start of the day.

I have a feeling that, due to the easy pace of the pitch, the match will go into the fourth day and finish a draw.

I must mention Joe Root’s 143 at Lord’s against Sri Lanka today, which equalled the record with Alastair Cook for Test centuries for England, both having 33.

I’ll be back with updates on day two tomorrow.

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.