York chief reveals Jonny Bairstow wish as Clifton Park celebrates fixtures coup
“MY ambition has always been to see my mate Jonny Bairstow walk out and play for Yorkshire at York, and I really hope that happens. He might be playing for England, of course, but that would be an absolute dream from my point of view.”
So said Nick Kay, the York Cricket Club secretary, as he reflected on next year’s fixture allocation for the Clifton Park venue.
It is one that will see Yorkshire play more men’s first-team cricket there than in any year previously (one four-day match, two one-day games and a T20), raising the prospect that Bairstow - currently out of favour at international level - could grace the ground in 2025.
“I’ve known him pretty much all his life,” reflected Kay. “We went to the same school (St Peter’s, just down the road from the ground), we share a love of horses and ponies, and we have a joint share in a showjumping pony.
“We speak regularly. I know his mum (Janet) and sister (Becky) really well, too, so there’s a strong connection.”
Kay - no mug with the bat himself, having set several records during his time at St Peter’s - played alongside Bairstow at York CC back in the day. The latter’s abilities soon took him into the Yorkshire Academy and then into the full Yorkshire and England teams, with Kay among those who believes Bairstow should still be gracing the international stage.
“If you look at his Test record, he’s played 100 matches and 49 of those have been against Australia or India, so he’s never had it easy. There’s certainly a big difference between facing the likes of Mitchell Starc and Jasprit Bumrah and one or two others.
“People go on about Jonny’s average (36.39), but he’s been involved in something like 49 last-wicket stands, and he’s been out in most of those playing for the team. If he’d played more for himself and less for the team, he’d have an average over 40 and probably still have his England place, but ultimately he’s one of the most selfless team players this country has produced, and that’s credit to him.”
It is not inconceivable that Yorkshire could field four players with York CC connections in next year’s Championship game at Clifton Park – against Essex, starting on June 29. As well as Bairstow, the club has been served by Jonny Tattersall, Ben Coad and Fin Bean, a quartet who have been excellent ambassadors for club and county.
It would certainly be a proud moment for Kay, who pronounced himself delighted with next year’s allocation.
As revealed last week, York will stage its inaugural men’s T20 against Durham on June 15, while today’s fixture announcement confirms One-Day Cup contests against Lancashire on August 12 and Somerset two days later.
“We’ve been very lucky overall, and we’re very excited about next year’s games,” said Kay.
“The T20 will be something completely different, and from our perspective it’s just a case of making sure that the ground’s set up for potentially a higher volume of people (York are hoping for a crowd of some 5,000, with extra space created through a one-off absence of the marquee).
“The Championship game is fantastic news. It’s my favourite format, I’m more of a purist, and I really like the longer version of the game.
“We thoroughly enjoyed staging our first Championship game in 2019 (when Headingley was in use for the World Cup), and although it’s not a given that we’d be able to have a four-day game every year, I would certainly love for that to be the case.”
While York gets the equivalent of seven days’ cricket, Scarborough is looking forward to its usual 10, comprising Championship matches against Surrey (from July 22) and Sussex (from July 29), plus one-day games against Warwickshire (August 5) and Durham (August 22).
Bill Mustoe, the Scarborough president, said: “In terms of the sides that are coming to Scarborough, I think they’re first-class in that we’ve got the Championship winners for the last three years in Surrey; we’ve got Sussex, who were the Division Two champions and were promoted along with Yorkshire, and we’ve got Warwickshire and Durham in the one-dayers.
“Traditionally, Durham, because of the proximity of the counties, is particularly looked forward to and usually a good game.”
Ideally, Scarborough would like to have its two Championship matches at the beginning and end of August, and Mustoe said of the back-to-back fixtures in July: “It’s perhaps not ideal, but then the whole seasonal set-up in terms of the allocation of competitions is not great.
"Scarborough’s population quadruples in August because it’s school holidays and summer holidays, and the two Championship games that we do have start on a Tuesday, so there’s no weekend involved.”
Of The Hundred, which takes out first-class cricket in August, Mustoe added: “I know there are people who think that maybe that competition would be a great sign-off for the season in September.”
2025 FIXTURES
YORKSHIRE MEN
Rothesay County Championship Division One
April
4-7: Hampshire (A - Utilita Bowl)
11-14: Worcestershire (H - Headingley)
18-21: Durham (A - Riverside)
May
2-5: Warwickshire (H - Headingley)
9-12: Essex (A - Chelmsford)
16-19: Surrey (A - The Oval)
23-26: Nottinghamshire (H - Headingley)
June
22-25: Nottinghamshire (A - Trent Bridge)
29-Jul 2: Essex (H - York)
July
22-25: Surrey (H - Scarborough)
29-Aug 1: Sussex (H - Scarborough)
September
8-11: Somerset (A - Taunton)
15-18: Sussex (A - Hove)
24-27: Durham (H - Headingley)
Metro Bank One-Day Cup (50 overs)
August
5: Warwickshire (H - Scarborough)
8: Northamptonshire (A - Northampton)
12: Lancashire (H - York)
14: Somerset (H - York)
17: Middlesex (A - Radlett)
22: Durham (H - Scarborough)
24: Sussex (A - Hove)
26: Kent (A - Canterbury)
28: Quarter-finals
31: Semi-finals
September
20: Final (Trent Bridge)
Vitality Blast (20 overs)
May
30: Northamptonshire (H - Headingley)
June
1: Worcestershire (A - New Road)
6: Birmingham Bears (A - Edgbaston)
8: Leicestershire (H - Headingley)
11: Nottinghamshire (A - Trent Bridge)
13: Birmingham Bears (H - Headingley)
15: Durham (H - York)
20: Durham (A - Riverside)
July
4: Worcestershire (H - Headingley)
6: Derbyshire (A - Chesterfield)
11: Lancashire (A - Old Trafford)
13: Derbyshire (H - Headingley)
17: Lancashire (H - Headingley)
18: Leicestershire (A - Grace Road)
September
3/5/6: Quarter-finals
13: Finals Day (Edgbaston)
YORKSHIRE WOMEN
Metro Bank One-Day Cup League 2 (50 overs)
April
19: Worcestershire (H - Headingley)
26: Sussex (A - Hove)
May
3: Derbyshire (A - Derby)
15: Leicestershire (H - York)
August
2: Middlesex (H - Headingley)
9: Glamorgan (H - Weetwood)
16: Gloucestershire (A - Bristol)
25: Northamptonshire (A - Northampton)
30: Kent (A - Canterbury)
September
6: Semi-finals
14: Final (New Road)
Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup
May
5: Round One - Derbyshire Falcons (TBC)
10: Round Two - (if progress, v Staffordshire or Cumbria (TBC)
17: Round Three - (if progress, v Essex (TBC)
24: Quarter-finals
26: Finals Day (Taunton)
Vitality Blast Women’s League 2 (20 overs)
June
1: Derbyshire (H - Headingley)
8: Leicestershire (H - Headingley)
21: Derbyshire (A - Derby)
27: Worcestershire (H - Headingley)
29: Northamptonshire (A - Northampton)
July
13: Northamptonshire (H - Headingley)
18: Leicestershire (A - Grace Road)
20: Worcestershire (A - New Road)
26: Finals Day (Northampton)
MEN’S INTERNATIONALS
June
20-24: England v India (Test match - Headingley)
September
2: South Africa (One-day international)