AFTER a career spanning more than 50 years as a journalist, much of which have been dedicated to covering the fortunes of Yorkshire Cricket, David Warner has published a fitting tribute to 150 years of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
The Sweetest Rose, published by Great Northern Books (price £17.99) celebrates the history of the White Rose club since its foundation in 1863 up to the present day, the author having been given unprecedented access to all the county’s records.
Warner, who worked for much of his career at the Telegraph and Argus, for whom he became the Yorkshire cricket correspondent in 1974, also provided county coverage for the Huddersfield Examiner for many years, writing under the guise of John James.
Throughout the book it is easy to sense the passion which Warner has always had for the game, and as he admits; “one of the greatest of pleasures has always come from getting a good story out of the cricket rather than from just watching the cricket itself.”
And throughout, he never shirks the turmoil and in-fighting which has been just as much a part of the club’s 150-history as has the triumphs, of which of course, there have been many during that time-span.
“The heat may be less intense now, but Yorkshire CCC is still recognised around the globe as one of the game’s greatest centres and the place where cricket has been fashioned into what it is today,” explains Warner.
Yorkshire is synonymous with some of the greatest names ever to grace a cricket field, and there are significant entries summarising the career and feats of players like Arthur Mitchell, Hedley Verity, Len Hutton and Fred Trueman as well as a whole section on Huddersfield League club Lascelles Hall, who at one time were prodigious in supplying cricketers to the county club.
There are also interesting question and answer sessions from three long-serving Yorkshire members, whom Warner describes as the ‘memory men,’ notably Ted Lester, Michael Crawford and Derek Hodgson. Also included are 50 pages of illustrations, from the county club’s first-ever Treasurer and first ‘proper’ President, Michael J Ellison, right up to the present day with Huddersfield-born Ryan Sidebottom, and up-and-coming new stars like Joe Root and Adam Lyth.
The Sweetest Rose (right) will appeal, not only to Yorkshire County Cricket Club supporters, but to all those interested in the history of cricket – and comes just in time for those looking for Christmas stocking-fillers.
Copies can be ordered either by phone 01274 735056 or by visiting the website at www.greatnorthernbooks.co.uk
