The North Yorkshire Cricket Tales

The North Yorkshire Cricket Tales were ‘inspired’ by village cricket in and around the picturesque village of Cropton, North Yorkshire, England. The earliest mention of cricket in Cropton was back in 1858 when an 8-a-side local game took place between Cropton and Cawthorne. Relatives of the well known Scoresby family played in this game. William Scoresby was the man that invented the “Crows Nest” on the old sailing ships.

The Cropton Cricket Club played mainly 20 over evening cricket against the local villages. Most of the players had to walk or bicycle to matches in the early days. A Saturday league was introduced after the first World War, but when transport improved the best cricketers played their weekend cricket on the cut grounds of the local towns at Pickering and Malton.

A couple of international test players have visited Cropton. Travis Friend and Gary Brent have both represented Zimbabwe and they played for one of the local teams against Cropton. The village even had a couple of visiting Australians, from Bundaberg, playing for Cropton in 2005.

Cropton Cricket Team 1929

Back row: 2 Abe Hill, 4 Donny Wood, 5 Wilf Brown and 6 Fred Botham
Front row: 2 in middle Daniel Feaster and Frank Berriman

We have had a few characters and a few laughs over the years at Cropton. Here are a few of the tales. I hope you enjoy them!

WE WON THE CUP! A CRICKET TALE THAT A CAPTAIN CAN NEVER LIVE DOWN!
The captain always has to be responsible … even during the celebrations after the game.

DON BRADMAN WOULD HAVE STRUGGLED TO PLAY CRICKET AT CROPTON CRICKET FIELD!
The cricket field at Cropton presented some unusual conditions for a cricketer. Would the mighty Don Bradman have coped with them?

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BALL – ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A SPECTATOR!
It is a good rule of thumb to keep your eye on the ball when playing cricket. Sometimes you need to keep your eye on the ball when watching too! 

‘GEORDIE’ & ‘SQUEAK’ ARE NICKED! IT’S JUST NOT CRICKET!
‘Geordie’ & ‘Squeak’ were a couple of local pranksters. Find out how they got their comeuppance! It just wasn’t cricket!

A CRICKET UMPIRE SHOULD NEVER COUNT HIS VICTIMS!
This is a short funny tale about a great character in local cricket. With some umpiring advice thrown in for free!

BLIMEY, YOU HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE CALLED CASS IN YOUR CRICKET TEAM!
Is this a cricket record?