By Graham Hardcastle.
Jim Love, a trophy-winning batsman for Yorkshire through the seventies and eighties and now heavily involved at York Cricket Club as head coach, is hoping the forthcoming Specsavers County Championship match against Warwickshire at Clifton Park can spark memories of special weeks gone by.
“Back when I played, Yorkshire played at a lot of Festival grounds, and I think we have the makings of this being that kind of occasion,” admitted the three-capped England ODI player of the Division One fixture, starting a week on Monday.
“We are not intending to rival Scarborough. It’s pretty special there.
“A lot of people stay in the town for those games. I don’t think that will happen quite as much in York. I think we’ll get a lot of day visitors.”
Yorkshire are taking a game to York for the first time since 1890 (the now defunct Wiggington Road) given Emerald Headingley’s heavy international schedule.
They did not want to take a third game to Scarborough, and with other outground options at Bradford and Sheffield not up to standard yet, York CC was the obvious choice.
The club regularly host Yorkshire second team and Diamonds Kia Super League games and have spent heavily on upgrading facilities at Clifton Park over the past decade, including relaying the outfield ahead of last summer.
