Crakehall...

The day improved, with plenty of pix of Swaledale. I ended up at Crakehall, and its eccentrically shaped cricket pitch, to find a game in progress. While it takes a hefty whack to reach the boundary with a straight drive, a clip off the legs only has to go about ten yards, because the churchyard intrudes on the pitch. Despite these eccentricities - or maybe because of them - Crakehall is village cricket at its best.

I see, from the Guardian website, that Burnley had to abandon today’s pre-season friendly - yes, friendly - against Hannover, because of crowd violence. After huge transfer fee and wages, I can only watch football now as a cultural phenomenon; I really can’t care who wins. The cricketers at Crakehall applauded the opposition batsman when he reached fifty; the crowd at Burnley were ripping up seats and throwing them…

Arkengarthdale...

Cricket at Crakehall...