Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2017

12 Sheffield Cricket Lovers’ Society twitter: @scloverssociety It is hard to imagine a time in recent memory when the future of cricket has been so uncertain, or so laden with opportunity, depending on your perspective.. At international level, the ICC is searching for the ‘golden bullet’ in the form of a structure that will give far more context and meaning to bilateral international cricket. Finding an arrangement which is palatable to all member nations could not be a tougher remit. Closer to home, the ECB is working up a fresh domestic structure to incorporate two T20 tournaments from the year 2020. Again, this is no straightforward task and the challenge here is to ensure the integrity of all formats of the game is maintained, not just the very shortest. Yet, amid all this change, all the talk of strategy and new audiences and reports of eye-watering numbers from potential new broadcasting deals, something extraordinary happened in 2016. The County Championship, so often derided by some commentators and cited as being on a life-support machine by others, pushed itself to centre stage to provide some thrilling cricket in front of growing crowds. The scene outside the North Marine Ground at Scarborough on 24th August was one to bring a smile to the face of all those who love the longer form of the domestic game, which is its heartbeat. Arriving at 10.15a.m. to prepare for an M.C.C. Members’ drop-in session I was hosting that day, I was astonished to see the queues outside snaking round the ground and by the very audible buzz of anticipation amongst the fans as they waited patiently to get in. All this for a format of the game supposedly on its last legs. As play got underway, the picturesque ground was packed and it was delightfully anachronistic to see an outfield where the boundary was close to the spectators, ignoring the three-metre gap usually allowed for ‘health and safety’ reasons. On the field, to local approval, Yorkshire rather bullied Nottinghamshire, but off it the Yorkshire folk were friendliness personified. The whole experience was uplifting and a stark reminder to those of us running international venues that there is much support for the County game. We ignore that at our peril. Digressing slightly, I must register a soft spot for Yorkshire after playing at Headingley for Warwickshire Second XI as a humble club cricketer way back in 1978. Championship Cricket Uncertain but Exciting: Derek Brewer, Chief Executive MCC