A point lost or a point gained for Yorkshire CCC? That is the question

Only four times in 17 attempts - discounting what is now four abandonments - have Yorkshire prevailed in the Manchester T20, a record only slightly better than Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline.

Bad times never seemed so bad, you might say, than when Yorkshire visit the home of their fiercest rivals.

The latest instalment in an unhappy story saw this fixture fall foul of the weather for a second successive year, rain having also washed out the game in June 2023.

There was persistent precipitation throughout the afternoon - in the summer, in Manchester, shurely shome mishtake? - and although it stopped briefly, teasing the 17,000 who had bought tickets, the game was officially called off not long after the scheduled 7pm start.

Having poked and prodded their pink umbrellas into the saturated outfield and the sodden square, with patches of mud visible in places, it was not a difficult decision for umpires Alex Wharf and Rob White.

Matters had not been assisted by plenty of rain over the previous days, indeed, along with a couple of concerts thrown in for good measure, a reminder that counties need to raise money any way they can in this day and age.

Lancashire, in fact, were particularly unfortunate. This was their second abandonment in the space of 24 hours, their fixture at Derbyshire having also gone for a burton, and their third washout in four matches no less.

It is a measure of how well they have played that they remained second in the nine-team North Group regardless, following six wins and three defeats, with Yorkshire left just outside the top-four qualifying spots.

Yorkshire were thus denied a chance to complete their first T20 Roses double since 2011, having beaten Lancashire by seven runs at Headingley just over three weeks ago.

For the record, and in addition to the aforementioned 2011 and 2014 triumphs, Yorkshire’s other T20 wins in Manchester came in 2006 and 2008.

That there is never much love lost between these great rivals is, of course, taken as read.

As one Yorkshire player put it in the 1920s, describing the Roses County Championship games of the period, “We shake hands on t’first morning and say, ‘How do’. Then we say nowt for three days but, ‘Howzat’.

However, hostilities had been temporarily suspended earlier on Friday when Yorkshire paid tribute to Lancashire’s James Anderson.

After Anderson’s final Test appearance at Lord’s, Yorkshire tweeted: “Congratulations on an incredible career @Jimmy9 A true legend of the game!”

A nice touch from White Rose to Red, and a fitting acknowledgement of Anderson’s achievements.