National League[3] (1) - 1983
- Twenty20 Cup (0) -
- Benson & Hedges Cup (1) - 1987
Second XI honours
- Second XI Championship (4) - 1977, 1984, 1991, 2003; shared (1) - 1987
- Second XI Trophy (0) -
- Minor Counties Championship (5) - 1947, 1957, 1958, 1968, 1971
Other honours
- Fenner Trophy (3) - 1972, 1974, 1981
- Asda Challenge (1) - 1987
- Ward Knockout Cup (1) - 1989
- Joshua Tetley Festival Trophy (6) - 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998; shared (1) - 1992
- Tilcon Trophy (1) - 1988
- Under-25 Competition (3) - 1976, 1978, 1987
- Bain Clarkson Trophy (1) - 1994
Earliest cricket
- For information about Yorkshire cricket before the county club was founded, see: Sheffield Cricket Club
The earliest known references to cricket in Yorkshire are as late as 1751. These relate to local matches in Sheffield and to a game on or soon after Monday 5 August at Stanwick, near Richmond, between the Duke of Cleveland’s XI and Earl of Northumberland’s XI (the same teams had earlier played in Durham and this is Durham's earliest cricket reference).
On Tuesday 7 July 1761, the Leeds Intelligencer (now the Yorkshire Post) announced a game to be played at Chapeltown the following Thursday (9 July) and this is the first game we know of in the Leeds area.
Sheffield quickly became the main centre for cricket in Yorkshire. In September 1757 a match took place between Wirksworth and Sheffield at Brampton Moor, near Chesterfield. This is the earliest reference to cricket in Derbyshire. It may also be the earliest indication of the Sheffield club that eventually became Yorkshire CCC. Sheffield are recorded in matches against Leeds in 1765 and, more significantly, against Nottingham Cricket Club in August 1771.
The Sheffield club continued to play first-class games into the 19th century. In 1833, the team is referred to as Yorkshire for the first time and in 1849 we find the first Yorkshire v Lancashire Roses Match.
Origin of club
On 7 March 1861, a Match Fund Committee to run Yorkshire county matches was established in Sheffield, which had by then been the home of Yorkshire cricket for nearly 100 years. It was from this fund that Yorkshire CCC was founded two years later. This was an exact parallel with the formation of Sussex CCC from a similar fund (1836 - 1839).
On 8 January 1863, the formation of Yorkshire CCC was agreed at a meeting of the Sheffield Match Fund Committee in the Adelphi Hotel, Sheffield. The club was originally based at Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Its current base at Headingley in Leeds was first established in 1888.
Yorkshire CCC played its initial first-class match versus Surrey at The Oval on 4, 5 & 6 June. It was a rain-affected draw, evenly balanced. The first captain was Roger Iddison. Mr Michael Ellison was the club's first President and his financial support kept the club afloat in its early years. It was not all plain sailing. In 1865 5 players, George Anderson, George Atkinson, Roger Iddison, Joe Rowbotham and Ned Stephenson refused to play against Surrey after a dispute over the action of a Kent bowler, their colleague in an all-England match against Surrey. Anderson never played for Yorkshire again.
Club history
Golden years
Wilfred Rhodes took 3597 wickets for Yorkshire in his career
Yorkshire won all seven of their matches in 1867 and their first, unofficial, County Championship. Lord Hawke was appointed Captain in 1883, bringing much needed authority and discipline to an often fractious side. One of the great early figures in the game, Lord Hawke was captain for 28 years, later becoming Yorkshire President and President of MCC.
Yorkshire played their first game at Headingley in 1891 and two years later a major reorganization of the Club saw its centre of operations shift from Sheffield to Leeds. They dominated the early county championship. In 1896 Yorkshire amassed the highest score in county cricket - 887 against Warwickshire at Birmingham and from 1900 to 1902 Yorkshire lost only two Championship matches of 80 played.
Yorkshire went through the 1908 season unbeaten and bowled Northamptonshire out for 42, the lowest aggregate score in English cricket (27 and 15). Lord Hawke resigned as Captain in 1910 and it took the Great War to interrupt Yorkshire's long run of success.
Yorkshire won the first post-war Championship in 1919, a year which saw the debut of the great Herbert Sutcliffe and of Yorkshire legend Emmott Robinson, and remained the dominant force in the County Championship until the Second World War, often dismissing lesser sides without recourse to a third day's play. They won every year from 1922 to 1925 and 7 more times in the 1930s. The team won 25 of their games in 1923, for instance, with Rhodes and Roy Kilner doing the double in these matches alone, 4 other batsmen scored 1,000 runs and 3 other bowlers, including the great George Macaulay, took 100 wickets.
The kingpin of much of this success, Wilfred Rhodes retired in 1930, taking 73 wickets and scoring 478 runs in his final season at the age of 53. JM Kilburn wrote in the Yorkshire Post: "He had bowled at W.G. Grace, and he bowled at Don Bradman. At 20, at 30, at 40 and at 50 he had shown himself master of his world, and his kingdom was never usurped." This colossus was hardly missed however as the brilliant Hedley Verity, another skilful slow left armer, dominated a decade of featherbed batting pitches. The Yorkshire batsmen prospered with Percy Holmes and Sutcliffe putting on a record opening stand of 555 against Essex at Leyton in 1932.
The immaculate Herbert Sutcliffe formed a famous opening partnership with Surrey great Jack Hobbs for England, while Wilfred Rhodes and George Herbert Hirst rank with the finest all rounders the game has ever produced. A 22 year old Len Hutton scored a then world record 364 against Australia at the Oval and returned after the war, despite a serious arm injury, to become England's first professional captain and prove himself perhaps the most complete opening batsman since Jack Hobbs.
Large crowds flocked to the cricket after the Second World War with 47,000 people attending the 3 days of the Roses Match at Bramall Lane in 1946. Yorkshire won the first post-war Championship and mercurial spinner Johnny Wardle made his debut while Bob Appleyard became the first bowler to take 200 wickets in his first full season in 1951. The 50s were dominated by Surrey's unbroken hegemony and stern action was taken. Billy Sutcliffe, Herbert's son, lost the captaincy to 39 year old Bradford League veteran Ronnie Burnet and Wardle was sacked for his 'general behaviour' and writing an article deemed critical of the club. Yorkshire finished out of the top ten for the first time ever in Burnet's first season, but in his second and final stint the club regained the County Championship.
The sixties saw a new Yorkshire team emerge and dominate the first class game. Brian Close was made Captain in 1963 and won the Championship in his first season. Immaculate right-hander Doug Padgett, obdurate opener Geoff Boycott, canny off spinner Ray Illingworth, ever present keeper Jimmy Binks, belligerent left hander Brian Close, hard hitting Jack Hampshire and 'Fiery' Fred Trueman combined in one of the great county teams. As this team began to break up however, Close was controversially sacked in 1970 and there began a long-running current of unrest in the Club. There was sadness too in 1973 when Bramall Lane, the first home of Yorkshire CCC, was closed after over 400 first class matches.
Starting to struggle
Geoff Boycott captained Yorkshire for most of the 1970s, but success eluded the team, even when Boycott forswore test cricket for 3 years to concentrate on the county game. He was sacked as captain amid much furore after the 1978 season. There were endless problems in a faction ridden dressing room and problems between the Committee and some leading players. 1982 saw a bizarre move in which team manager Ray Illingworth, who had returned to manage the club from Leicestershire, replaced Chris Old as Captain, at the age of 50.
Yorkshire finished bottom of the 17-strong County Championship for the first time in 1983 but won the John Player (later National League) for the first time. Geoffrey Boycott, one of Yorkshire's most iconic players, was not offered a new contract. There was a public outcry, the General Committee resigned, and Boycott eventually was reinstalled as a player - having already been elected to the Committee. Brian Close became Chairman of the Cricket Committee.
In 1984-1985 Team Manager Ray Illingworth was removed from his post, and Boycott was made Vice-Captain. In 1987 Yorkshire, under new Captain Phil Carrick, led the Championship table in mid-summer, and won the Benson and Hedges Cup. Carrick resigned his post in 1989 in a letter to the Committee which urged the recruitment of an overseas professional.
After long having a policy of playing on many 'out' grounds, Yorkshire decided in 1997 to limit play to Scarborough and Headingley. A majority of members supported a plan to build a new ground near Wakefield, but this never came about.
Signs of revival
More recently paceman Matthew Hoggard and Manchester born England captain Michael Vaughan have proved major stars for county and country alike, both of them making major contributions to England's recovery of The Ashes in the 2005 season.
In clinching the match against Glamorgan at Scarborough in 2001 the club won its first County Championship since 1968 under the flinty captaincy of locally born David Byas (who returned in 2005 as director of cricket). A poor season followed in 2002 however and the County was relegated to Division Two of the championship. This disappointment was tempered by a memorable victory over Gloucestershire in the final of the C&G Trophy at Lord's. A financial crisis forced an extraordinary general meeting, at which General Committee was replaced by a Board of Management.
A fine Division Two Championship season in 2005, where they remained unbeaten until the last game, meant promotion and Yorkshire began 2006 once again in Division One.
Colin Graves, Chief Executive for three years and chairman of the Club's leading sponsor, Costcutter, was replaced as Chief Executive by Stewart Regan, but retained his place on the Board, becoming Chairman.
Progress stalls
In the 2006 County Championship Yorkshire survived relegation in the last match of the season against Durham. A score of 677-7dec against Durham combined with Nottinghamshire's innings and 245 run defeat by the champions Sussex meant that Yorkshire finished 6th, 2 places and 1 point above the relegation zone.
After the final match of the season Craig White resigned as captain stating: "Now is the appropriate moment to go. I led Yorkshire to promotion last season and we stayed up this year, I am proud of my record and will support to the hilt whoever takes over".[4] Yorkshire fans waved goodbye to a legend in the match against Durham, with Darren Lehmann retiring from the county game.[5] Left-hander Michael Lumb left the club for Hampshire[6] while Richard Dawson,[4] Richard Blakey and Mitchell Claydon[7] were released.
Moxon and Gough bring new hope
At the start of the season the Yorkshire-born Sussex captain Chris Adams was approached to take the vacant captaincy position at the club[8] However, after being introduced to his new colleagues, Adams staged a dramatic U-turn, stating the role was too much for him.[9] This was a setback for Regan and seemed to put Yorkshire behind schedule with a threadbare squad. However, things began to look up with the announcement of high profile signings Younus Khan[10] and Jacques Rudolph. Rudolph signed for the county under the Kolpak Ruling on a three year deal on 23 January 2007.[11] On 28 February Darren Gough was announced as captain for the 2007 season, rejoining the county after his three year stint at Essex.[12] Following this appointment, a long running dispute with batsman Anthony McGrath was resolved.[13] The renaissance was complete with the return of Martyn Moxon from Durham as Director of Professional Cricket. In addition to this England Captain Michael Vaughan committed the remainder of his county level career to Yorkshire while leaving the contract open enough that he can play for England whenever available.[14] Since Vaughan's retirement as captain and subsequent omission from England's one-day side, Yorkshire could expect to see a lot more of the England test captain.
Yorkshire made a record breaking start to the 2007 season against Surrey at the Brit Oval. Debutant centurion Jacques Rudolph and promising all-rounder Adil Rashid put on a record 6th wicket partnership for Yorkshire against Surrey of 190. This was somewhat overshadowed by the magnificent 246 stand between Tim Bresnan and Jason Gillespie (who both made hundreds) which is a Yorkshire record for the 9th wicket. Gillespie's 123* was also a highest score for Yorkshire by a number 10 batsman.
By the time the mid-season break came around, Yorkshire were sitting at the top of the County Championship. The following, rain-hit months saw Yorkshire falter slightly in the Championship, drawing 6 on the bounce and suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of old enemy Lancashire, leaving them win-less since 9 May. In mid-August, Yorkshire turned to Inzamam-ul-Haq, brought in as a replacement for Younus Khan who left for the Twenty20 World Championship, to try to reignite the drive for the Championship title. His debut came on a freezing morning in Scarborough against Warwickshire. Yorkshire skittled the opponents for just 129 in the first innings. After 15 games Yorkshire were still top of the league, however many of their championship rivals had a game in hand on them. After a rained off draw with Hampshire in their last game Yorkshire eventually finished sixth, the exact same position they had finished in the previous season when they had been battling relegation even with 20 more points than their total in the previous season.
Ground history
As with all county cricket clubs, Yorkshire CCC represents the historic county and not any modern or current administrative unit. In Yorkshire's case, this means the three ridings and the City of York, although the club played some home matches outside the historic borders at Abbeydale Park in Sheffield from 1974 to 1996.[15][16]
Yorkshire first played at North Marine Road, Scarborough in 1878. This is the venue for the annual Scarborough Festival matches.
The club was founded on January 8, 1863 in the Adelphi Hotel, Sheffield based at Bramall Lane. Headingley in Leeds was first established in 1888. Test cricket was first played at Headingley in 1899 eight years later than it hosted its first ever first-class game against Kent County Cricket Club in 1891. From 1891 the club's headquarters moved to Headingley, although 'out grounds' in Hull, Sheffield, Bradford, Middlesbrough and Harrogate were used with great success until recent years.
A move to a new site near Wakefield was mooted but, despite an expensive publicity campaign, this foundered on Yorkshire's inability to secure a cost-effective break of their lease on the ground. Yorkshire currently play most of their home matches at Headingley with two profitable festival weeks in the east coast holiday town of Scarborough.
On 31 December 2005 Yorkshire County Cricket Club purchased the cricket ground for £12 million with the help of a £9 million loan from Leeds City Council. This purchase ensures that Test Cricket continues at the venue with a 15 year staging agreement. On 11 January 2006 the stadium was officially renamed the Headingley Carnegie Stadium as a result of sponsorship from Leeds Metropolitan University and the club announced plans on the 11th January 2006 to rebuild the stand next to the rugby ground with 3,000 extra seats, taking capacity to 20,000.[17] The club also announced plans to redevelop the Winter shed (North) stand on 25th August 2006 providing a £12.5Million Pavilion Complex.[18]
This following table gives details of every venue at which Yorkshire have hosted a first-class or List A cricket match:
Coaching staff
- Director of Pro Cricket: Martyn Moxon
- Director of Cricket Operations: Ian Dews
- Batting Coach: Kevin Sharp
- Bowling Coach: Steve Oldham
- Strength & Conditioning Coach: Dean Riddle
- First XI Physiotherapist: Scott McAllister
- Second XI Physiotherapist: Mohammed Seraj
Players
For the honour of the County
Yorkshiremen are regarded as fanatical in their support of their native county, and in cricketing matters especially. The famous 'Roses Matches against Lancashire are second only to Anglo-Australian Tests in terms of history, tradition and competitiveness.
Yorkshire CCC was famous for insisting that its players must have been born within the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire, a rule not dropped until 1992, and Yorkshire's results suffered through the seventies and eighties as other counties raced to sign major overseas stars.
Due to a lack of playing success, this rule was firstly modified to allow those educated within the County to play (a dispensation used by Michael Vaughan) and then abandoned altogether. Sachin Tendulkar was the first player to take advantage of this new freedom and, incidentally, was the first Asian to be selected for Yorkshire, when he played as an overseas player. Other overseas players to have worn the famous white rose cap include Australian middle order batsmen Michael Bevan and Darren Lehmann, Australian paceman Jason Gillespie and West Indian Richie Richardson.
Ethnic minority players
Yorkshire has a large ethnic minority population and, for many years, the inability of players from the ethnic minority communities to force their way into the 1st team has been a controversial issue. The County authorities regularly insist that they have an equal opportunities policy and that they take vigorous steps to encourage players from all backgrounds. However, it has manifestly not borne fruit and the low number of players (and spectators) from the ethnic minority communities continues to be a source of embarrassment.
It was not until 2003 that Dewsbury's Ismail Dawood became the first British-born Asian to play for Yorkshire. In 2006, all-rounder Adil Rashid made his debut against Warwickshire and produced figures of 6/67 with his leg spin in the second innings, helping to reduce Warwickshire to an innings defeat. Yorkshire's academy team also contains the first Yorkshire player of an Asian background to captain England at any level, U15s Captain Azeem Rafiq.[19]
Club captains
- For the full list of club captains, see: Category:Yorkshire cricket captains
It is a curious fact that three Yorkshire players Stanley Jackson, Len Hutton and Michael Vaughan have captained England to success in The Ashes yet none of them have been club captain at Yorkshire. Ray Illingworth was playing for Leicestershire CCC when he was captain of England.
From 1883 to 1959 inclusive, Yorkshire always had an amateur club captain. The extent of leadership given by these gentlemen has long been a subject of discussion. Hawke and Sellers are generally held to have been autocratic and decisive, but in fact both relied heavily on sound professional advice. At the other extreme, Wilfred Rhodes is supposed to have been the de facto captain from 1920 to 1930, but it is a fact that Major Arthur Lupton took the diplomatic lead when a row erupted between Yorkshire and Middlesex during his tenure.
Lord Hawke famously said, at the Yorkshire Annual General Meeting in 1925: "Pray God, no professional shall ever captain England. I love and admire them all, but we have always had an amateur skipper[20] and when the day comes when we shall have no more amateurs captaining England it will be a thousand pities."[21] In view of this, it is perhaps surprising that, when Arthur Lupton retired at the end of the 1927 season, Hawke was one of the sponsors of the suggestion that Herbert Sutcliffe should turn amateur and become the Yorkshire captain. In the event, there was sufficient opposition to the idea amongst the Yorkshire committee and players (some of the latter felt that Wilfred Rhodes, as senior professional, had a prior claim), that the proposal was dropped.[22]
2008 squad
The Yorkshire squad for the 2008 season currently consists of (this section could change as players are released or signed):
Players with international caps are listed in bold.
Notable players
- See also: List of Yorkshire CCC players
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England
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Australia
New Zealand
West Indies
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South Africa
India
Pakistan
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Records
Scores
Highest Yorkshire totals
Highest totals against each county
Lowest Yorkshire totals
Lowest totals against Yorkshire
Results
Tied matches
Largest margin of innings victory
Largest margin of runs victory
Narrowest margin of runs victory
Victory after following on
Defeat after opponents followed on
Partnership record for each wicket
