Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Year Book 2014

33 Sheffield Cricket Lovers’ Society There were debut visits to a host of grounds from the spectacular arches and first-class clubhouse at Copley in the Halifax League to the hidden gem of Oriel, nestled in the Scarborough backstreets. The weather gods were kind for a hat trick of Cup Finals each with their unique sense of occasion - at Ackworth for the Yorkshire Cricket Council; the Heavy Woollen at Hanging Heaton and Ossett hosting the Central Yorkshire Cricket League T20 Day. A scorching afternoon at Dunnington was a goldmine of stories; not least the way a young allrounder called Colin Graves used to deposit cricket balls into the field opposite but the sixty- two year old former West Indies opener Collis King, playing in his eighteenth York & District League season, was out cheaply. Strategic partnerships with the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation and Yorkshire Cricket Board opened up a wealth of interviews and feature articles and hopefully promoted the invaluable community work of both to a new, online audience. Technology inevitably forms the backbone of my work and social media has been an essential, and sometimes addictive, tool to get word out. Twitter isn’t for everyone and the notion of a limit of only one hundred and forty characters was initially anathema. Three years ago, my first tweet took twenty minutes to get right which rather defeats the point of the immediacy of the platform. Whether sharing photography on Facebook, audio interviews on Soundcloud or video on YouTube; these digital channels are only as good as the content; a continual challenge that keeps me on my toes. Looking forward to the 2014 season? Engaging with those involved in Yorkshire cricket, at whatever level, whether interviewing Andrew Gale or a club groundsman, remains key as does enticing all of you to have a read. www.cricketyorkshire.com We also now have a website for news, pictures and information www.sheffieldcricketlovers.org.uk Follow Sheffield Cricket Lovers on Twitter @scloverssociety www.sheffieldcricketlovers.org.uk