Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2023

35 There was also considerable help for Yorkshire’s 700+ clubs: ‘In Yorkshire, we drew down £3m for clubs, outside cricket funding, to help support them and keep the lights on and them going. We had to be there for them.’ Six members of YCB staff worked all of the way through the pandemic under intense pressure, while the mental health of all those missing was not forgotten either. Cricket was the first sport to return and behind the scenes, there were frantic calls made all of the time to react to shifting circumstances and pass on information when it was available. The criticism of the ECB was that information was too slow to formally make its way out, particularly when Ministers were tweeting live updates and grandly announcing when ‘cricket will return’. As a result, we had the farcical situation of clubs getting all of 24 hours to prepare for the resumption of cricket after lockdown, needing first to read, understand and act on a massive list of requirements. You suspect that the ECB was caught off guard as much as anyone else. It had a slot on Wednesday when they talked to The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). That often left too little time to hammer out specifics before a weekend of club cricket. The ECB and YCB did cop some flak at the time but these were unprecedented times and both were waiting for the drip of information. Andrew confirms that the YCB talked to the Regional Heads of the ECB 2-3 times a day for months about Covid. Ultimately, we all got through it. Just. I’m not quite sure how. It has certainly taken its toll on Andrew, who has retired from the YCB and steps away from the game that has been his life. A hugely popular figure, he will be missed in Yorkshire cricket circles. WWHis love of gardening and the comings and goings of resident Sheffield bird life are a pleasant way to wrap up an absorbing hour. Yorkshire’s diversity in grassroots cricket reflects society. It’s both a source of pride and a conundrum that has many answers. There are 100 one-team urban clubs and a further 100 one-team rural clubs in Yorkshire, each with their particular needs. Yorkshire’s 700+ clubs are so different and catering for them all from funding to courses to advice is a mammoth job. So, Andrew, I ask, what needs to happen to recreational cricket in Yorkshire over the next decade? More cricket in schools, more coaches, umpires and scorers, he tells me. To support volunteers and make the game more family-orientated. All complex and wide-ranging problems – and opportunities – for another day and now, another person at the helm.