Misfits and house martins at Wagon Lane

It’s funny how you can revisit something familiar with fresh eyes and see it in a completely different light.

On Saturday I opted to visit the nearest club to Cricket Yorkshire HQ and headed to Wagon Lane; home of Bradford & Bingley Cricket Club.

I dive from time to time, but despite its convenience, I often go gallivanting around Yorkshire, so it’s been quite a while since I’ve been down.

After weeks of village cricket at Glasshouses, Stainland and Crakehall, it’s time for some rolled-up, no-nonsense Premier League cricket.

On arrival it was warm and sunny, after a nice dry morning in the garden (all of which was unforeseen by the weather apps I occasionally trust for guidance).

Not for the first time, I headed to the cricket in a jumper where everyone else seemed to have the grade and were in t-shirts.

Spinner Reece Cockshott, who won the 2023 Bradford League Young Spinner of the Year award, bowled a few on the pitch. Ed Brown, captain of Bradford and Bingley, came over for a chat as we were doing a lap.

The land, prone to ridiculously high floods, was in good shape, albeit with evidence of the biblical midweek flood that had hit Bingley. Beyond the playing surface, to the right of the scoreboard, a mini-lake had formed, where geese were frolicking and drinking.

Bradford and Bingley are a young side who surprised a few by beating Woodlands, today’s visitors, to lift the Priestley Cup last August by six wickets at Pudsey Congs.

Their league form in 2024 is slightly more capricious, with two wins from four before Woodlands, the defending champions going for their fifth successive Bradford Premier League title, come to Wagon Lane.

It reads: Edged Undercliffe, big win at Pudsey Congs, comfortably beaten by Townville then narrow defeat to New Farnley.

We take a seat on the long row of benches that line this side of the ground, with the long white building of the inner nets and The Cricket School shop behind us.

I can barely get through the podcast episode when a drummer starts his routine in the rugby club. I had forgotten the mini music festival over the weekend, replacing the Challenge Festival allocated to Myrtle Park, which was cancelled.

Occasionally a car sneaks in to add some background atmosphere to this latest episode for Spotify, but we persevere. I love recording outside because you get the birdsong, the chirping of crickets and the occasional deep growl of a bass track from inside a Porsche.

Ed tells me that his side have been labeled as misfits and that they are comfortable with the label; bringing together players who may not necessarily fit into the first eleven elsewhere but have a lot to offer.

The game starts during the interview and immediately problems arise. Home team’s Jacob Slater puts his arms to the third ball of the match from Muhammad Bilal (above) and the stumps are pulled.

We talk overseas players and the impact former Australian Under-19 batsman Corey Miller has had at Wagon Lane over two seasons; culminating with 55 in the Priestley Cup to win the man of the match award.

This season they have Louren Steenkamp who has already hit two hundreds and has shown what he is all about. Although, if Bradford and Bingley are to bounce back and regain form, they will need consistent runs from their top six.

There is a Yorkshire County Cricket Club pedigree for Bradford and Bingley, with Harry Brook having a brief spell here (“He didn’t score many, he tried to hit everything!”) and Will Luxton emerging this season when he was not required to bat for the county side.

The cricket club is evolving and trying to add to the offering here. The ground has hosted showpiece finals for years, thanks to its floodlights, parking, indoor and outdoor nets and playing surface.

I didn’t know they served teas to spectators at Bradford & Bingley until my club came in. Cricket Yorkshire Tea of ​​the Year (ahem, anyone can nominate a club before the end of June 2024!)

In other news, the Luxtons made a good tea at @Brad_BingleyCC. I did my due diligence. Very well cared for.
Don’t forget to enter our competition: https://t.co/SYokUROF1P pic.twitter.com/t1Aug9AfE9

— Cricket Yorkshire (@cricketyorks) May 25, 2024

There is now a licensed bar and live broadcast with FrogBox, while on the pitch a new women’s team have made it two wins from two in Bradford Division B of the West Yorkshire Women’s and Girls’ Cricket League.

It is a developmental softball league for those who have never played before, are returning to the game, or who enjoy this format and standard. I am continuously impressed with how this league is growing but also offers something for cricketers of all standards.

Back to Bradford Premier League; I sit for a spell on the folding chairs outside the gazebo to catch a few overruns, but also to marvel at the house martins dropping in numbers and returning to rest in the eaves.

I commonly – and lazily – refer to most acrobatic birds on cricket grounds as Ionians when they are often swallows or house martins. Identification can be difficult, but here, the locals are not shy and in decent numbers to spot the white bellies and short tails.

I am a restless visitor; partly because I like to shoot from all angles and partly because sitting in one place means missing out on many random conversations and encounters.

A later shift leads to a fight with Joe Pyrah’s parents. Top batsman Joe is a winter contractor from New Farnley; The teenager proved his match-winning potential with plenty of runs at the Heavy Woolen Cup holders but is hoping to hit the ground running at his new home.

The immediate focus is juggling A-Levels with the Bradford Premier League; a discussion of Joe doing A-Level English brings back a chilling memory of my own battles with John Milton and Paradise Lost.

Oddly enough, deciphering the lines of an epic poem (1,000-line epic) written in the 1600s didn’t help me massively in forging my career in cricket journalism.

I remember my report card saying, with a degree of exasperation, that “if John had shown half the dedication to his studies that he does in the cricket nets, he would be doing much better!”

Unfortunately, Joe is dismissed as his parents look on, breaking against Bilal who finishes with 3-36. Forests were obtained in line and a persistent threat with Thomas Clee a muscular all-rounder who bowls with pace; Clee dismisses Louren Steenkamp cheaply on his way to 2-25 from 15 overs.

From 52-5, Bradford & Bingley are rebuilding somewhat with Brown (32, above) and Wade (33) but you can’t keep Brad Schmulian out of the game and his break-breaks are up 4- 45.

During his backhand, Brown has an equipment malfunction when the Kookaburra’s bat hits the handle, causing a change and a startled look.

On my Wagon Lane tour, it’s satisfying to run into people I haven’t seen in years. Chris Brice, now coaching Northern Diamonds but still committed to Woodlands, Amar Rashid of the Adil Rashid Cricket Academy and Bradford League writer and historian Reg Nelson.

With the half-time signal, it’s time to have a beer and explore the cricket teas. Spoiler alert, they are excellent.

The Luxton family’s lavish teas are known at the club and in the league; Anywhere I can stuff fries, a mini sausage in a Yorkshire pudding and a piece of Victoria sponge on a plate will always qualify as a win.

A score of 142-9 from 50 overs is low on a pitch that is traditionally a harder, stronger surface with good batting value. However, consider the context of so much rain and you just never know.

Will it be enough? The hosts need early wickets and Jack Luxton accounts for Sam Frankland second ball before the key wicket of Brad Schmulian (18) off Reece Cockshott causes hoops of delight.

Flickering hope is snuffed out by a ruthless Woodlands outfit who have become accustomed to winning from all positions. The best sides tend to have different headline-grabbing heroes over the course of a long season.

Today, it’s Thomas Clee’s 50 not out to set up a comfortable seven-wicket win as the visitors reach 146-3 from 47.1 overs. Cockshott finishes with 2-30 from 15 overs; an entertaining brawl before the champs slammed the door shut.

On this performance Woodlands look in ominous form and have already built up a lead. Their main challenges may come from crowding or injuries. (As I write this, New Farnley have lost Jer Lane and will miss skipper Alex Lilley’s runs and wickets after an Achilles problem.)

There will be plenty of twists and turns in the Bradford League no doubt. Woodlands will expect to win in the league and cups. Balancing domestic and national commitments will be intriguing. It is in the BCE National Club Championship where Woodlands and other Yorkshire clubs will feel they have a gap in their CV.

As for Bradford and Bingley, with June beckoning them over, they’re a bit further down the pack and need to regroup. After finishing seventh, fifth and eighth in the past three years, the hope will be that something goes their way in 2024.

Before closing I went home to defrost after the weather turned dramatically from balmy to baltic. It is a precursor to a dramatic storm on Sunday. As I watch a wall of hail rattle our car, a thought wanders to Neil Hartley and what state the Wagon Lane pitch will be in.

All in all, a very pleasant afternoon; combining heavy league cricket in the middle and a friendly reception outside it.

On Bank Holiday Monday Woodlands’ game with Cleckheaton was abandoned without a ball being bowled as Jer Lane beat Bradford & Bingley to go top.

PODCAST EPISODE 🎙️

To listen to my interview with Bradford & Bingley captain Ed Brown, as well as my observations from the day, click on the episode below.

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MATCH PHOTOS 📸

Check out these match photos, taken when you’re not nursing cups of tea to get your circulation going.

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Founder of Cricket Yorkshire, author of Dales, Bails and Cricket Club Tales, All Wickets Great & Small and Last of the Summer Wickets.

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