YORKSHIRE v HAMPSHIRE
in first-class cricket
at Headingley
1895-2018
For Yorkshire’s last home Championship game of 2018 Paul Dyson (stats) and Nigel Pullan (text) look back at three matches when Hampshire came to Headingley on previous visits. The photo of Martyn Moxon comes courtesy of Mick Pope.
Hampshire is a team that has played all around Yorkshire so it is difficult to find games at Headingley that have not already been covered in these notes. They have appeared on all of Yorkshire’s First-Class grounds used since 1946 when I saw my first full match at Scarborough, Hampshire being led by Desmond Eagar. Sheffield (Bramall Lane) was popular, possibly because it was nearest to them, and they played a good deal at Park Avenue as everyone did when Bradford had three home matches every season.
They seemed to play often at Hull and, as Harrogate had a game each year, had their turn at St George’s Road. When I worked at Twickenham in 1965 a colleague came in with a broad grin and asked if I had heard the score at Middlesbrough. As you know, White, Shackleton and Cottam bowled Yorkshire out for 23 with White taking six for ten and two wickets each for the others. Don Wilson top scored with seven not out.
If you look further back they also played at Huddersfield and Dewsbury but you would have to be Methuselah from Middle Wallop to have seen your county on all ten grounds. Hampshire’s most recent visit to Fartown Huddersfield) was in 1911 when Yorkshire won thanks to George Hirst, Major Booth and Harry Hartington whose five for 81 was his best return for Yorkshire in ten matches. Benny Wilson and David Denton each made eighties. For Hampshire Philip Mead carried his bat in the second innings for 120 not out and took a wicket, that of Schofield Haigh. Hampshire first came to Huddersfield in 1898.
In 1919, the two-day-match season, Hampshire played at Dewsbury on July 11 and 12 and lost by an innings and 143 runs. There were centuries for Wilfred Rhodes and new captain David Burton. When Hampshire batted Ambrose Causer Williams took nine for 29. Wisden in its report calls him E Williams. ‘Bill’ Williams was a native of Darfield and, despite this analysis, only played in 12 matches for Yorkshire but had a long and varied league career ending at Mexborough Athletic aged 46. Hampshire had George Brown, Philip Mead, Alec Kennedy and Lionel Tennyson in their team at Savile Town (Dewsbury) but also had a number of military men. Captain TO Jameson, an Irishman, was a good cricketer as well as a racquets and squash player. Major Lennox Black was a Canadian who had played for Canada against USA in 1907. A contender for the most obscure First- Class cricketer ever was a player listed as Sgt. McGibbon, no initials, who made 0 and 1 not out and bowled one over for 10 runs in his only match. But you can’t beat the statisticians who record that he was Charles Edward McGibbon and he was born in Portsmouth. Now find out why he was picked to play at Dewsbury.
1987
May 6, 7, 8: Yorkshire 286-8dec (MD Moxon 98) & 124 (MD Marshall 4-37); Hampshire 148 (CG Greenidge 54) & 247 (SD Fletcher 4-44, A Sidebottom 4-46). Yorkshire won by 15 runs.
Hampshire have a good record at Headingley being the only county to have won more matches than they have lost. In this match Yorkshire made 286 for eight on a difficult pitch, Moxon making 98 in five-and-a-half hours against Malcolm Marshall, Tim Tremlett and Kevan James. After an initial onslaught from Gordon Greenidge Hampshire collapsed to 148 all out to Stuart Fletcher, Arnie Sidebottom, Paul Jarvis and Peter Hartley. However Yorkshire did even less well in their second innings as Marshall and Cardigan Connor dominated. The visitors required 263 on the last day and nearly made it. David Turner made a patient 47, Marshall hit out, Bobby Parks and Rajesh Maru were defiant but Fletcher’s three for 18 saw Yorkshire home. When Moxon caught Chris Smith it was Carrick’s 700th first-class wicket for Yorkshire.
Hampshire always chose their overseas players wisely. Marshall was a wonderful cricketer, a devastating bowler, hard-hitting batsman and good team player. Greenidge was brought up in Berkshire but never aspired to be other than a West Indies player. Chris Smith was their third overseas player in this match. Turner, from nearby Wiltshire, was a local player who was
