Members' Representative Group

MRG Meeting Minutes 10/03/25

Graeme Greenfield

Graeme joined Yorkshire CCC whilst still at school and has remained a member ever since.

He has watched Yorkshire through thick and thin and remains an enthusiastic member watching the county home and away. He thinks there is no better day than sat at Headingley or Scarborough watching bat on red or white ball.

Graeme joined the MRG in 2015 and became chairman in 2018.

He played local cricket and rugby for the Leeds Modernians where he can be regularly found at the bar.

Charlotte has been a member of Yorkshire County Cricket Club continuously since joining as a junior in 1963.  Her passion for Yorkshire cricket came from her father who played amateur cricket around York and who first took her to Headingley in 1958 after she nagged him to be allowed to accompany him to a game. She was hooked immediately.

She enjoys watching all forms of cricket played by Yorkshire and attends virtually all home first team games, some second team games when possible, as well as two or three away games each season.

Charlotte has been an elected member of the MRG for several years, believing strongly in the importance of the Group’s role of representing members and their interests, and in the need to improve communications between the Club officials, the Board and members. In addition, she has been Chair of the Yorkshire County Cricket Supporters’ Association for over ten years.

She worked in education for many years, firstly for over twenty years as teacher in Morley and Leeds, as an A-level examiner, writing and editing two A-level history textbooks, then as an advisor and latterly as a freelance school inspector before finally retiring so she could watch more cricket.

Beyond cricket her interests include music, theatre and art and she is a member of both the Arts Society Leeds and Opera North.

Howard was born roughly a 30-minute walk from Headingley, first attending Yorkshire games with his father in the 1950s.

He is married to Lesley, and they have two daughters Jacqueline and Michelle and three grandchildren. The youngest, Matilda, is a junior tyke and their grandson Liam works for the Club as an Analyst, and is also the Lead Analyst for the Northern Diamonds.

Howard and his wife are long standing Leeds United season ticket holders. Their love of cricket has seen them travel to Australia, South Africa and the West Indies for tours involving Yorkshire and England. Both Howard and his wife are on the Yorkshire Supporters Association Committee, which does much to benefit the Club.

He firmly believes that with the huge number of measures that have been introduced by the club to make Yorkshire a more equitable and welcoming place for all who wish to come along and attend cricket, that the Club are in a far better position going forward, ensuring it has a greater chance of success both on and off the field.

Pauline’s love of cricket started in her early teens when she went to watch village cricket in Staffordshire with her parents and other family members. Her uncle who officiated as an umpire encouraged her to become a scorer for the village cricket team.

She has been a member of Yorkshire CCC since 2010 and both watches and enjoys all formats of the game. She is also Secretary for the YCCC Supporters Association.

She feels the Members’ Representative Group has an important role within the wider aspects of YCCC. By representing the Members and providing an opportunity to champion various topics and issues, this facilitates a closer link with the Club as a whole. This role is even more important in today’s environment, particularly given the recent ongoing developments including the future structure of cricket.

Before taking early retirement in 2009, Pauline worked in the NHS for 34 years in the field of audiology, working with children and adults with hearing and balance problems.

Her final position was as a Consultant Clinical Scientist/Manager of Service at Bradford Royal Infirmary. During these years she was a member of the National Professional Body – the British Academy of Audiology. She became President, and later Executive Officer of this body.

Pauline feel that this history demonstrates her experience and enthusiasm of working on Committees and Governing Bodies.

Ian Townsend is a Chartered Accountant who has served on many boards including Public Companies, Sporting Organisations and Government Grant Committees. He worked for KPMG in the Bahamas for two years before developing his own accountancy practice in Harrogate. His time in the profession gave him the skill to recognise the ingredients necessary to create a successful business, which he used to invest in, and successfully sell, a number of companies.

Having led two floatation’s on the London Stock Exchange, including the reverse take-over of Sheffield United, he acquired considerable experience in raising tens of millions of pounds. Probably most relevant to his appointment to the Board is his time at Sheffield United Plc where he served as CEO for almost two years. As CEO he was responsible for all aspects of the club with the exception of the playing staff. This role along with seven years spent on the Members’ Committee at YCCC have given Ian an insight into the issues all sporting clubs face.

Ian is the Member Nominated Board Director and was appointed to the MRG in April 2024.

Ben became a member of Yorkshire County Cricket Club in 2013, having caught the cricketing bug during the run-in to the 2012 campaign, when the club earned promotion from Division 2 and were T20 finalists. He was going to eventually catch the cricketing bug, having been born into a cricket-loving family and visiting Headingley since he was a babe in arms.

Ben is on the committee of the Yorkshire County Cricket Supporters’ Association and runs the recently created social media accounts for the association.

Outside of cricket, Ben is a member at Leeds United, and also enjoys working on his long-running project planning, designing, and building a multi-purpose Lego stadium.

During his time on the Members’ Representative Group, Ben would like to represent the younger generation of members and fans of the club, making sure their views are heard whilst encouraging them to get more involved in the club. He would also like to support the club’s efforts to attract new fans to the club and cricket as a whole, especially through making connections with schools.

Ben was appointed to the MRG in September 2024.