The Twelfth Man 2020

© SWPix.com Photo courtesy of Chris Barron F unny thing, habit - and routine. At first, when the fixtures came out in November 2018 it seemed exciting that Yorkshire, forced out of Headingley by the World Cup, were go- ing to play at York. Two weeks out from the fixture it suddenly seemed less at- tractive. Routine was being upset. Go- ing to Leeds and Scarborough we know how long it takes to get there; where to park; what time to arrive; where to sit for a good view and so on. In the end, after a lot of weighing up options it was decided I would go alone on the first day as a sort of ‘scout’. I took the train to York, walked along to the bus stop on Station Rise and was whisked to the ground in no time. Walk- ing about 200 yards to the entrance gate I saw all the side roads were coned off, so they would not be options for park- ing. A little after 9am, I was way too ear- ly for the bustling preparations at the entrance. YCCC ticket-office staff were trying to get their scanners up and run- ning at the marquee entrance; a few cars were dribbling in off the main road and being directed around the perimeter of the ground; souvenir programme sellers were working the developing queue and then, just after 9.30, we were let in. Hastening round a very soggy outfield I made for the temporary stand on the far side and took a seat mid-way up the rows. Immediately, I knew my dodgy knees would never withstand a full day in the limited space so I moved to the front row, but now my feet did not even reach the ground. I spent a few hours until lunchtime with my legs dangling. At lunch I moved along a little to where the ground was obviously a bit more raised. Later I took a few perambulations to take in the facilities - and how well organised it all was. A tented village down one side, the clubhouse and players’ pavilion along the opposite side and a tree-lined wall on the fourth side. I went to check on the car park very close by and although well filled, it seemed to have plenty of ca- pacity. Every vantage point around the boundary edge was filled by people in their garden chairs, including three rows in front of my perch on the stand. Getting away from the ground in the evening seemed easy enough at first. Quickly onto a bus, I hadn’t reckoned with the queue to get through the lights at Clifton Green where right-turning traf- fic waits for a filter. I missed two trains before I was deposited back at the Sta- tion Road stop. By the time I reached home, it had been a very long day. It would be the car for us the next day. So, for the next three days, armed with intelligence gleaned on the first day, we arrived early enough to park very close to the other entrance marquee and car- rying our garden chairs we took a place just along from the sight-screen, very close to the bowler’s arm. This became our turf for the duration, and very con- vivial it was. The clubhouse was close to hand, offering a better alternative to the portaloos on the other side. Always pro- viding, of course, that you were prepared to thread a way through the bar area and the outside drinkers’ terrace. On two evenings at close of play we sought out the bar ourselves, just to ‘let the worst of the traffic get away’, of course. And how pleasant to sit in the evening sun, a drink in hand as players from both sides and officials mingled with the lin- gering spectators. What was readily ev- ident was how well almost every detail of hosting the match had been thought through. And how welcoming all the club personnel had been. I had seen a chap bustling around the boundary many times during the match. It was the club secretary, Nick Kay as I found out after he replied to my congratulatory note a few days later and offered the hope that York would be rewarded again. He wrote back, ‘I look forward to meeting you next year. Do introduce yourself to me. I’ll be the stressed one running round the ground looking worried!!’ As for the cricket….well, let’s just say that Yorkshire rather let this one through their fingers…. Yorkshire v Warwickshire at Clifton Park, York 17 to 20 June 2019 1st Inns: Yorks 259 ao (92.4 overs); S Patterson 60, G Ballance 54; O Hannon- Dalby 5-76, C Miles 4-44; Warks 254 ao (98.2.overs); D Sibley 67 R Yates 49; S Patterson 3-33, D Willey 3-71; 2nd Inns: Yorks 211 ao (81 overs); J Leaning 65, A Lyth 37; J Patel 4-48, O Hannon- Dalby 4-61; Warks 219-7 (66 overs); W Rhodes 83, D Sibley 81; J Logan 4-22. Warwickshire won by 3 wkts. THE JOY OF OUT-GROUND CRICKET Chris Barron savours the first county match to be played in York since 1873 24 25