Bears on Tour: Leeds

Between Friday 2nd and Monday 5th August, Warwickshire took on Yorkshire in a County Championship cricket contest at Headingley - Stephen and I were there to watch the action and indulge in a little West Yorkshire exploration...

- The Len Hutton Gates -

We travelled up to Leeds on Thursday 1st August, arriving at the Headingley Lodge just on 5pm. After settling in we decided to reacquaint ourselves with the neighbouring rugby and cricket grounds before venturing out to the nearby Arcadia bar for an evening pint or two.

- A cricketing scene from Headingley -

The match gets underway on Friday morning with Warwickshire winning the toss and putting Yorkshire into bat. The first two days saw Yorkshire marginally in the ascendancy, the home side making 302 underpinned by a century from Gary Ballance followed by the Bears reaching 221 for 8 with Laurie Evans scoring 88.

- Whitelocks Luncheon Bar -

The third day's play saw Warwickshire take command of the match, firstly by reaching 309 all out courtesy of some lower order runs from Keith Barker (49) and Jeetan Patel (63), then by reducing Yorkshire to 148 for 7 in their second innings. We were therefore two rather contented Bears supporters as we headed out for a Sunday evening in Leeds, sampling the Hedley Verity Wetherspoons, the Victoria Family & Commercial Hotel and the wonderfully historic Whitelocks down an alleyway off Briggate.

- Cheers to a decent draw -

Sadly the weather intervened on the Monday morning and play was delayed until mid-afternoon, although we did get to watch some Ashes action courtesy of the TV coverage from Old Trafford. Upon the resumption at Headingley, Yorkshire were bowled out for 180 leaving the Bears with a target of 174 runs for victory. The chase had only just begun when bad light and more drizzle ended proceedings, the match ending tamely as a draw. The result at least continues Warwickshire's recent upturn in performances and we felt we might well have won if the weather had been a little kinder.

- Train at Huddersfield -

The match might be over but we can still enjoy our final evening in West Yorkshire by taking the train out to Dewsbury and Huddersfield. Both towns have impressive pubs as part of their railway stations, with the West Riding Refreshment Rooms and the Head of Steam proving very atmospheric. I was particularly impressed with Huddersfield in general actually, the town had some seriously grand Northern architecture epitomised by the station itself. Come Tuesday morning there's just time for a closing full English breakfast before we make the journey back home, satisfied with having enjoyed a few well-spent days of cricketing contentment.