Throughout the 2021 season, we will be featuring a weekly round-up of the best games in club cricket, with a look at the four men’s premier leagues and the Yorkshire Women and Girls Cricket League. We want to hear from you, so if you see or are part of a great game of club cricket in Yorkshire, send us the details to [email protected] and we will include the best games each week.
Yorkshire Premier League North, 2021
Through the eyes of: Adam Fisher, Sheriff Hutton Bridge captain
What happened in 2020: Teams played out a nine game season, with Dunnington coming out on top, ahead of Stamford Bridge, with seven wins. Sheriff Hutton Bridge finished fourth with five wins. Bridge were also beaten finalists by York in the YPLN T20 competition.
2019 champions (last full season): Sheriff Hutton Bridge
2019 top run-scorer: Sam Drury – Scarborough; 945, ave 59.06, best 145
2019 top wicket-taker: Ishan Abeysekera – Harrogate; 45, ave 16.47, best 7-40. Samuel Grant – Clifton Alliance; 45, ave 16.67, best 5-34
Bridge hopes: “We currently see ourselves at the start of a two or three-year redevelopment cycle. There are still six or seven players in our side who won the league in 2019, so we will be more than competitive. But we have lost Karl Carver and Ed Barnes, and we have some younger lads in to replace them. I wouldn’t expect us to be in the top three title options.”
2021 title challengers: “It’s hard to know exactly given the disruption that came last year, but I would imagine York will be favourites. I think they were looking to strengthen quite a bit. Dunnington also look like they have a good squad and will have got some confidence from winning the nine-game league last year.”
Your professional: Dulash Udayanga – Sri Lankan batting all-rounder (third season at the club).
Best professional elsewhere: Duncan Snell, York
Best amateur: Chris Bilton, Woodhouse Grange
The Yorkshire connection: Matthew Fisher – “If you offered me Matthew for a few games now, I would want to say, ‘No’ because we want him to be playing for Yorkshire all the time. But if he needed a few games for any reason, of course we would take him. And he would probably tear it up as he normally does.”
Future Yorkshire star from YPL North: Noah Kelly, Driffield Town – “He’s a young batsman who I haven’t actually seen play yet. But he plays some age-group cricket for Yorkshire, and I’ve heard good things. It will be interesting to see how he goes, with Driffield coming up to the Premier League this year.”
The YPL final will be between?: York v Hanging Heaton (Bradford League)
Season start date: Saturday April 24
