My Passion With Tim Halstead

I have been playing for the Romany Cricket Club for over 30 years; I’m a past captain and secretary, but the position I hold now, that of fixture secretary, is probably the most rewarding because it allows me to indulge my twin passions simultaneously – playing cricket and visiting the Yorkshire Dales.

The precise date of the founding of the club remains uncertain. We celebrated its centenary in 2002, partly because we were at least certain that the club was in existence by 1902, but also because the group charged with planning centenary celebrations took so long to organise them that 2002 had arrived anyway.

We’re a nomadic side so we don’t have our own ground, but we make up for that by playing fixtures in some of Yorkshire’s loveliest locations imaginable; from Settle to Bolton Percy, from Crakehall to Thorp Perrow. A particular favourite is Swinton Park. Not only is the location absolutely stunning, but the tea provided by the hotel chef is magnificent!

Many of the grounds on which we play are classical English village greens, some of which present their own idiosyncratic challenges.

Crakehall has several trees actually inside the boundary, and the church yard takes a chunk of the ground too, so when you’re fielding at slip you may also be standing on the boundary. The only downside is that they don’t allow sixes, so we are not tempted to loft the ball over the adjoining wall onto the greenhouses of the adjoining hall gardens.

Most of our matches are on Sundays and while we play every game to win, our first aim is to enjoy our cricket, whether members want to play one game or 20 games a season.

Our membership has always included lawyers, surveyors, doctors and other professionals, but we welcome players of all shapes, sizes and talents. Most importantly, we strive to uphold the values and traditions on which the club was founded in 1902. We play for the love of the game rather than a place in a league table and that ethos makes for a great sense of camaraderie.

Every other year we tour Sussex. Typically, we play in places such as Midhurst, Arundel and in the Priory Park in Chichester.

We have previously played on tour at Hambledon, reputedly the oldest club in England. The tour has been scheduled to take place a week later than usual, to accommodate the Olympics, although I’m not sure which of our members might be expecting selection.

Many of the Romany Cricket Club members work in the centre of Leeds so a fixture list that focuses on the Yorkshire Dales is a great escape to the tranquillity of the countryside.

We have about 70 members in total, with a core of about 20, but we’re always delighted to hear from like-minded cricketers who want to join us.