Made in Yorkshire: The True Home of English Cricket?

Affectionately known as 'God’s own county' by loyal locals, Yorkshire has often been seen as a breeding ground of English cricketing talent.

But is it truly the greatest county in the history English cricket?

89 Yorkshire players have played for England, 8 of them going on to captain the national team. Only Middlesex and Surrey have provided England with more captains. They are the most successful County Championship side having won the competition 33 times, the first in 1893 and the most recent of which was 2015. From Lord Hawke to Joe Root; Yorkshire has been providing cricketers for England for well over 100 years.

The origins of this great cricketing county were in Sheffield. Despite no first class cricket being played in the city since 1996, Bramall Lane, now the home of Sheffield United FC, was the original HQ of Yorkshire Cricket before it’s move to Headingley in 1891.

Cricketers from Yorkshire have also become known, rightly or wrongly, for their hard-nosed, no-nonsense approach to cricket. From Fred Trueman ‘The Greatest Fast Bowler who ever drew breath’ to Sir Geoffrey Boycott’s own blunting approach to batting.

There are so many hubs of excellence in the White Rose County, each producing a handful of wonderful servants to cricket. To name a few; Bradford: The Bairstows, Jim Laker, Adil Rashid and Gareth Batty; Barnsley: Dickie Bird, Sir Geoffrey Boycott, Katherine Brunt and Darren Gough; Sheffield: Joe Root and Michael Vaughan; Huddersfield: Clare Taylor, Wilfred Rhodes and Ryan Sidebottom; Leeds: Brian Close and Hedley Verity; Pudsey: Herbert Sutcliffe, Matthew Hoggard, Ray Illingworth and Len Hutton.

Headingley is one of the Historic Test Match venues in the UK with some incredible events to boast over the years. In 1981, Botham and Willis clawed victory from the jaws of defeat with odds against them at one point being 500-1, 10 years late brought a Test win for England against the mighty West Indies for the first time since 1969 and finally, who could forget 2019, I won’t explain the game, all I’ll say is ‘CUT AWAY, CUT AWAY FOR FOUR!!’

Even Yorkshire’s outgrounds are one of the most popular on the County circuit. Scarborough’s North Marine Road Ground is one of the most cherished cricket festival weeks around with thousands flocking to ‘Scarbados’ every year.

The demand for cricket at an amateur level as well makes local league cricket incredibly strong in the county. The Bradford League is particularly famous due to its high standard of cricket. This may well be due to the strong British Asian Community within the county which has produced names such as Adil Rashid, Azeem Rafiq and Ajmal Shahzad.

Like all great sides, Yorkshire has an arch-rival too. Across the Pennines lies Lancashire, the Red Rose. Historically, these two counties fought a war, now they fight for pride of the North. While Yorkshire have, undisputedly, been the better red ball team; Lancashire have a better limited overs record against their great rivals.

Something that made Yorkshire stand out against rival counties historically was the fierce commitment to their local talent. Until 1992, Yorkshire CCC would only select players born in the county. Sachin Tendulkar then became not only the first overseas player, but the first player to play for the White Rose who was born outside of Yorkshire.

Some might say that the ability to consistently produce world class cricketers and achieve unrivalled championship success and makes the Yorkshire the greatest county in English cricket.

Let us know what you think - is Yorkshire the true home of English cricket?

Our all-time Made in Yorkshire XI

Sir Geoffrey Boycott

Len Hutton

Michael Vaughan (Captain)

Joe Root

Wilf Rhodes

Jonny Bairstow (WK)

Hedley Verity

Darren Gough

Jim Laker

Fred Trueman

Matthew Hoggard