Phil Harrison: Scarborough is the prime example why our outgrounds must survive

This week, however – while asked to continue filling the hot-seat occupied by genial regular host Nick Westby – I found myself embarking on what felt like, in comparison, a foreign excursion, heading east to North Marine Road, where Scarborough Cricket Club were playing host to Yorkshire for the first time this season.

It was a cold, blustery day on the east coast of Yorkshire on Wednesday but, considering the deluge of water that has poured from the skies in recent weeks, at least it had stayed dry and the cricket could go ahead – even if wearing two or three extra layers was required.

There were around 1,000 hardy souls dotted around various parts of the ground, mingling with the ever-present seagulls forever on the prowl for leftover food.

It had been a slow start for Yorkshire in their quest for an immediate return to Division One of the County Championship, three games having produced three draws.

On Wednesday, the first day of their four-day encounter with Leicestershire, it seemed as though the hosts were going to struggle once again when they found themselves at 33-3.

But a fightback brought about by a 160-run partnership between captain Andrew Gale (80) and Jonny Bairstow (182) was warmly appreciated by the knowledgable crowd, which regularly offered ripples of applause as the duo set about the Leicestershire attack.

There was a genteel, relaxed atmosphere at the ground and, yes, while you do generally expect such an ambience from watching the four-day form of the game, there was an additional charm brought about by the actual setting.

Being at Scarborough took me back to my childhood and the many times when I was taken to watch county cricket by my grandparents.

Before I continue, I have to admit a sworn allegiance to a team outside these borders, purely on account of where I was born.

You see, I’m a Derbyshire lad and, naturally, a keen follower of all things cricket that emanate from the County Ground.

Back in the late 70s, usually on account of my father always working, it was left to my grandparents to sometimes provide entertainment for me and my elder brother, particularly on weekends.

Clearly it was my grandfather who decided how we would be entertained as, more often than not, we found ourselves at one of the many ‘outposts’ Derbyshire then had as an alternative venue to what was then a rather sorry looking headquarters in the County Ground just outside Derby city centre.

We went far and wide in our pursuit of watching what was then the John Player Special 40-over league – in the days when cigarette companies seemed to advertise most professional cricket competitions.

Closest to home was Long Eaton’s Trent College, with nearby towns Heanor and Ilkeston also used on a fairly regular basis throughout the summer. Further afield, an earlier midday start was required from my grandparents in order to get us to Chesterfield’s idyllic Queen’s Park, while the one time I remember going to watch a game in Glossop was something which required meticulous planning on my grandfather’s part, before carrying out the journey there and back with an almost military-like precision.

It was a time when, before and after the first innings, hundreds of kids were allowed onto the outfield to practice the strokes they had just seen performed out on the field of play – with varying degrees of success and before the days when you got chased off by over-zealous stewards.

Most counties had a handful of grounds they used back then.

Yorkshire, I am reliably informed, had several ‘outgrounds’ of their own, the most obvious one being Scarborough, the one remaining venue it still uses other than Headingley.

Others included Sheffield, Bradford and Harrogate which, sadly, as with all but picturesque Chesterfield in Derbyshire, are no longer used.

Most counties still have an alternative venue, but time spent at these often charming, sometimes downright unusual places has unfortunately become less and less which, judging by what spectators said at Scarborough earlier this week, is the wrong way to go.