Yorkshire CCC Players’ Association chairman, Neil Hartley, has urged members to try to contact former team-mates they may have lost touch with in an attempt to boost the Association’s numbers.
At the Association’s annual meeting on zoom on April 29 he revealed that the Middlesbrough-born former England batsman, Bill Athey, was just one of the colleagues that he had become reacquainted with during the Covid lockdown.
Bill made his Yorkshire debut in 1976 and went on to score 6,320 first class runs for the county before moving on to Gloucestershire and Sussex.
Neil told members: “Our Association is very much about maintaining contact with those we have shared playing days together and during ‘lockdown’.
“I have made attempts to track down and call former colleagues with whom I have personally lost touch – some, indeed, for far too many years.
“I spoke for example with Bill Athey for the first time in goodness knows how many years and with some luck I hope to encourage Bill back to Emerald Headingley at some stage this summer.
“If you feel you can make just one call to an old friend from your playing days please do so and see if we can expand on our gatherings with some new faces.”
In view of the Association’s lack of activity over the past year because of the Corona virus, it was unanimously agreed that former Yorkshire batsman and first class umpire, Barrie Leadbeater, should stay in office as president for a further 12 months.
Vice-president, Peter Whiteley, would have taken over the reins as president in normal circumstances but he was fully supportive of Barrie continuing in the role until 2022.
Discussions have been going on in an attempt to open the Association’s membership to Yorkshire’s women and these will continue in the months ahead.
Yorkshire chief executive, Mark Arthur, was thanked for again offering hospitality facilities, this time at the England v India Test in August, and golf events already arranged for this year include the Phil Carrick Memorial at Pannal on October 6, and the Tony Nicholson Trophy/Gibson Cup at Ripon on October 11.
Re-elected to the Management Committee were chairman, Neil Hartley; secretary, Geoff Cope; treasurer, David Ryder; press officer, David Warner.
Andrew Dalton was re-elected to the Discretionary Fund and Richard Hutton was re-elected as auditor.
DAVID WARNER
