The Twelfth Man 2019

16 17 day long, their cries echoing off the walls of the boarding houses be- hind. I’ve often wondered why they only start to roost on the outfield during the closing stages of the day’s play, scattering wildly if a ball or chasing fielder comes their way. The crowd disperses after stumps are drawn; everyone departs with a ‘see you tomorrow; enjoy your evening’ farewell, each to their own hotels, guest houses and flats. In the evening, pubs, cafes and res- taurants all over town thrive on the cricket harvest. It is impossible to venture out without encountering people talking about the day’s play and anticipating the next. And on the next day, the same rituals are enacted: arrive early, read the Yorkshire Post , watch the warm-ups, resume chat about the state of play, coffee in the tea room (you know it from the legend TEA ROOM on the roof that attracts the passing helicop- ter trade); settle down for another day, hopefully in the sun - but not always guaranteed. In 2018 a sea- fret rolled in capriciously, such that the north stand opposite was in- visible. No sooner had the umpire taken off the bails than it rolled out, only to roll in again as the batsman resumed guard. This teasing went on for some time with the game in a curious limbo - the umpires did not stop the play again, but nor would the batsman take guard. At any break in play - sched- uled or otherwise - one of the great Scarborough traditions is enacted. Within a split second of the bails being dislodged the outfield is sub- merged in a sea of kids armed with bats and balls (soft ones mostly, I’m pleased to report) and a hundred impromptu cricket matches com- mence. Look closely and you’ll see some very correct strokes being played. It’s all very serious. They are joined by perambulating spec- tators, stretching their legs in a few circuits of the outfield, dodging fly- ing balls and flailing bats as they go. Some head to the middle (some- how miraculously roped off) to gaze knowingly at the wicket; some nod sagely or offer comment, as if suddenly expert in loams, fertil- isers, the significance of cracks, the degree of moisture or dryness or the presence of grass. The ringing of the bell is roundly ignored, as is the public address request to vacate the outfield. The umpires enter into the huge throng and steadfastly head towards the middle. For a time it seems the unofficial players and the emerging official ones are locked in a battle of wills for possession of the ground, but suddenly the tide of bodies recedes back to the terraces, there to wait with seething impatience until the next break. Such are the time-honoured traditions - hardly altered in my sixty years of loving cricket at Scarborough. J M Kilburn once wrote, ‘Once visited, it takes hold of you inexorably….the spell is laid nevertobebroken.’ Longmaythose traditions continue. Photo courtesy of John Heald Photography My era at Scarborough: Yorkshire take the field in the late 1970s. (From left) Bill Athey, Steve Oldham, Phil Carrick, Chris Old, David Bairstow, Geoff Boycott, Richard Lumb (hid- den), Howard Cooper, Kevin Sharp, Jim Love. BETWEEN TWELFTH MEN A round-up of events in the cricket world since the 2018 Magazine In September Brian Close’s extensive collec- tion of memorabilia was gifted by his widow, Vivien to the Archives of the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation. On 7 September it was announced that Azeem Rafiq would leave YCCC at the end of the season when his contract ex- pired. Ben Coad received his Yorkshire First XI Cap on 18 September, the first day of the home tie against Hampshire - the club’s 182nd capped player. On 24 September Adil Rashid signed a new one-year contract with Yorkshire. Following the earlier controversy in 2018 that followed his decision not to play four-day cricket - and his subsequent selec- tion in the England Test side - it was confirmed this new contract cov- ers all formats of the game. On 1 October YCCC an- nounced the signing of batsman Will Fraine on a 3-year contract. Born in Huddersfield and playing for Honley CC, his first profession- al deal had been with Nottinghamshire after a spell with Durham MCCU.