The funeral of Yorkshire cricket stalwart Philip Akroyd will be held at Mirfield Parish Church on Wednesday, January 27.

A former general committee member of Yorkshire CCC and a vice-president in 2006, Mr Akroyd died on January 5 aged 80.

He and wife Patsy, from Mirfield, were among Yorkshire’s most loyal supporters, travelling widely to watch their team in action and never happier than when soaking up the atmosphere from the balcony at Scarborough’s North Marine Road ground.

He joined the Yorkshire committee as a Dewsbury district representative in 1984, following fresh elections as a consequence of the Geoff Boycott controversy. He served Dewsbury until the committee was revamped in 1993, when he was returned as a West District representative on the 12-strong body.

He served on the finance and marketing sub-committee before gaining a place on the cricket sub-committee in 1995, where he remained until 2001.

He then resigned his West District seat because he was unhappy with cuts which had been made to the playing staff, but he remained active and was particularly prominent in encouraging young cricketers from an ethnic background.

He developed a close association with the progressive Mount Cricket Club at Batley, where he regularly attended and spoke at their prize presentations.

Only last year, the Akroyds were invited to be chief guests at the club’s open day for boys and girls and, during a spell of illness, they sent officials to visit him at his home.

A former president of the Joe Lumb Cup competition for Under 17 teams, he was a fine batsman in his younger days, being closely connected with Hanging Heaton CC. He also played for Yorkshire Owls.