Picture by Ben Duffy/SWPix.com. Anthony McGrath in 2001, the year Yorkshire won the Championship title at Scarborough.
Scarborough Cricket will forever hold a special place in Anthony McGrath’s heart as he prepares to return to the famous old venue for the first time as Yorkshire’s head coach.
McGrath had many a memorable day at North Marine Road in his playing days, where the county’s men will call home for the next fortnight with back-to-back Rothesay County Championship matches against Surrey and Sussex.
First up are reigning champions, and current Division One leaders, Surrey, starting at 11am.
“I loved playing there,” said McGrath. “We won the Championship there in 2001, for the first time in so long.
“That definitely sticks as a memory. I still remember it vividly to this day.
“I think every Yorkshire player loves going and playing there.
“I’ve not been back there for a Championship game for a long time, so I’m really looking forward to the next two weeks. Hopefully the weather’s good, the crowds will be good, and we have two brilliant games.”
There was obvious frustration as McGrath reflected on the late withdrawal of Ruturaj Gaikwad from his overseas deal with the county, which would have started with this game. The Indian batter is having to deal with a personal issue.
There are also other “moving parts” in terms of availability, including the potential absence of captain Jonny Bairstow on paternity leave. But Pakistan batter Imam-ul-Haq has been signed on an overseas deal for the remainder of the season and will debut.
Picture by John Clifton/SWPix.com. Matthew Revis hit a brilliant, match-turning 150 against Essex in Yorkshire’s last Championship outing at York at the start of the month.
Yorkshire head to the East Coast with a spring in their step having beaten Essex at York last time out at the start of the month.
Yorkshire won by 10 wickets chasing 41 on the final day.
It moved them out of the bottom two places ahead of this 10th round clash with a Surrey side who are one point clear of Nottinghamshire as they bid for a fourth straight title.
“Notts were top of the league and we gave them a good game at Trent Bridge, and Essex have been strong. But we overtook them in the league,” said McGrath.
“I thought a performance at York was the best of the year really, in tough conditions. The batting performance in the second innings and then the bowling performance throughout was superb.
“We’ve had a little bit of a break now for T20, so Ben Coad’s been resting up and Jack White too. George Hill and Adam Lyth should be fine after their injuries, so we should have some fresh legs, which is good.
“And we’ll have momentum and confidence.”
Surrey have won three of their nine games, which is only one more than Yorkshire.
But the 49-point gap between the two counties is owed to the fact that Surrey are unbeaten after nine games with six draws and Yorkshire have lost four times and drawn three.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Dom Bess believes a victory over champions Surrey would be “season-defining”.
Last time out, Surrey drew at home to Durham at the Kia Oval having posted a first-innings 820-9 declared. Opener Dom Sibley hit 305 added to centuries for Sam Curran, Dan Lawrence and Will Jacks. Durham responded with 362 and 262-0.
Yorkshire’s standout performers against Essex were new-ball seamer Jack White with seven wickets in the match, Adam Lyth with 84, Matthew Revis with 150 and Ben Coad with 89.
All of those scores came in the first innings as Yorkshire, replying to 368 all out, recovered from 273-8 to post 459 all out. They then bowled Essex out for 131 in the second innings to set up a win which will live long in the memory.
This is the first of five remaining Championship games, and all-rounder Dom Bess said: “If we can top Surrey at Scarborough, then I think that’ll be season-defining.
“Where we’ve ended up at the moment – halfway in the season – I think the pitches are going to start playing a bit spicier as we get onto the end of the season.
“There’s going to be a lot of results.
“You can start flying up the table, and we want to start at Scarborough.
“As disappointing as the (Vitality) Blast has been, that win at York really showed what we can do and the character of ourselves.
“Matthew Revis shifted the whole game, if I’m honest. He was outstanding.
Picture by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images. Dom Sibley amassed a triple century for Surrey against Durham earlier this month.
“Ben Coad obviously played a huge part as well.
“The bowlers – when the pitch had a bit in it, it was overcast and was in our favour – we did the job and caught well. That’s half the battle at times.”
Yorkshire are hoping Bess will have recovered from a minor hip flexor injury suffered in the Roses Blast defeat to Lancashire at Headingley on Thursday to play.
Australian all-rounder Will Sutherland will feature against Surrey and Sussex before returning home.
Surrey will hand a debut to an Indian overseas player, the left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore, who has signed on for a two-game stint. Kishore is 28-years-old and has played three T20 internationals.
Surrey beat Yorkshire by an innings and 28 runs at the Oval in mid-May. Fast bowler Matthew Fisher featured in that game and could do again against his former county.
Surrey opener Sibley is now the leading Championship run-scorer across either division with 976 from nine matches.
Seam-bowling all-rounder Jordan Clark is their leading wicket-taker with 28. He is the only bowler to have played all nine matches for the champions this season.
Should Yorkshire – 91 points – beat Surrey, they would put themselves into a battle for mid-table places alongside the likes of Somerset, Warwickshire, Durham and Hampshire. They are currently sat on 117 points, 117, 108 and 105 respectively.
YORKSHIRE v SURREY, FIRST-CLASS CRICKET 1863-July 20th 2025 – STAT PACK
Results (home and away): County Championship: Played 199; Yorkshire won 59, Surrey won 58, Drawn 82. (Abandoned 2).
In addition, the counties have played 53 non-Championship matches; Yorkshire won 28, Surrey won 14, Drawn 11.
At Scarborough (all in CC): Played 8; Yorkshire won 2, Surrey won 3, Drawn 3.
Surrey’s first Championship match at Scarborough was not until 1969, but they had played in two first-class festival matches, against opponents other than Yorkshire, in 1892 (D) and 1957 (W).
Most recent results: 2025, Surrey won by an innings and 28 runs at The Oval. 2022, Surrey won by four wickets at Scarborough. Yorkshire’s most recent victory was by 123 runs at Scarborough in 2019. Most recent draw was at Guildford in 2019.
Most successive wins: Yorkshire, 9 (1872-1876); in CC 3 (3 times). Surrey, 8 (1886-1889); in CC 4 (twice).
Two wins in a season: Yorkshire 17 times, Surrey 16 times.
Highest innings totals: For Yorkshire, 704 at The Oval in 1899. For Surrey, 634-5dec at The Oval in 2013.
Lowest innings totals: For Yorkshire, 26 at The Oval in 1909. For Surrey, 31 at Holbeck in 1883.
Highest individual score: For Yorkshire, 255 by W Barber at Sheffield (Bramall Lane) in 1935. For Surrey, 273 by TW Hayward at The Oval in 1899.
Highest partnerships: For Yorkshire, 372 for the fourth wicket between JE Root (213) and JM Bairstow (198) at Headingley in 2016. For Surrey, 448 for the fourth wicket between R Abel (193) and TW Hayward (273) at The Oval in 1899.
This is recorded as 447 in the Yorkshire records due to a difference in the fall of the fourth wicket between the scorers. A Surrey record for all wickets against all opponents.
Best bowling figures (innings): For Yorkshire, 8-5 by E Peate at Holbeck in 1883. For Surrey, 9-47 by T Richardson at Sheffield (Bramall Lane) in 1893.
Best bowling figures (match): For Yorkshire, 14-77 (6-47 and 8-30) by E Peate at Huddersfield in 1881. For Surrey, 15-154 (7-55 and 8-99) by T Richardson at Headingley in 1897.
Hat-tricks: For Yorkshire, 2 by A Hill at The Oval in 1880 and M Leyland at Sheffield (Bramall Lane) in 1935. For Surrey, 5 by W Brockwell at Sheffield (Bramall Lane) in 1900, WH Lockwood at Sheffield (Bramall Lane) in 1903, Intikhab Alam at The Oval in 1972, RD Jackman at Headingley in 1973 and AH Gray at Sheffield (Abbeydale Park) in 1985.
Most dismissals in an innings by a wicketkeeper: For Yorkshire, 6 by D Hunter (5 ct, 1 st) at Sheffield (Bramall Lane) in 1891. For Surrey, 6 by EW Pooley (4 ct, 2 st) at The Oval in 1870.
Most dismissals in a match by a wicketkeeper: For Yorkshire, 8 by D Hunter (2 ct, 6 st) at Bradford in 1898, four instances of 7 in a match. For Surrey, 7 by EW Pooley (5 ct, 2 st) at The Oval in 1870, WW Read (5 ct, 2 st) at The Oval in 1883 and H Wood (7 ct) at The Oval in 1894.
Most catches in an innings by a fielder: For Yorkshire, 5 by D Wilson at The Oval in 1969. No-one has taken more than 4 for Surrey.
Most catches in a match by a fielder: For Yorkshire, 6 by J Tunnicliffe at Sheffield (Bramall Lane) in 1893. No-one has taken more than 5 for Surrey.
A century and five wickets in a match: For Yorkshire, GH Hirst 232* and 5-43 and 1-6 at The Oval in 1905. For Surrey, PGH Fender 177 and 6 and 6-116 at Bradford in 1928 and KF Barrington 158* and 5-51 and 2-54 at The Oval in 1967.
At Scarborough…
Highest innings totals: Yorkshire 521 in 2022, Surrey 515 in 2022.
Lowest innings totals: Yorkshire 152 in 2018, Surrey 130 in 1972.
Highest individual scores: For Yorkshire, 183 by A Lyth in 2022. For Surrey, 132 by RJ Burns in 2022.
Best bowling figures in an innings: For Yorkshire, 6-66 by D Gough in 1994. For Surrey, 6-61 by J Overton in 2022.
Best bowling figures in a match: For Yorkshire, 7-76 (4-31 and 3-45) by AG Nicholson in 1972. For Surrey, 7-102 (2-63 and 5-39) by M Morkel in 2018.
Compiled by Paul Dyson, Peter Horne and Martyn Webster – members of the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
