Crescent Shaped

Yorkshire v Durham

York City Knights v Doncaster

A day off work so the opportunity to take in the last knocking of the county championship and the rugby league play offs.  

Down to the rebuilt Headingly, a semi reasonable £16 for the day.

This was day three of the game, with Yorks having a 195 run lead from the first innings.  They were batting again, with the openers putting on a massive partnership.  The main focus was that the ever impressive Alex Lees was closing in on becoming the first ever Yorkshiremen to score a century in each innings of a county championship game, having scored 132 in the first innings.  However, he fell on 88, which led to a quick declaration, and Durham chasing 420, but in the hour left of the evening session, lost four wickets to the not that challenging attack of Ryan Sidebottom and Susan Boyle alike journeyman Jack Brooks.  Yorkshire went on to win the game easily the next morning.

I then headed on to York, using the more gentile route via Harrogate, rather than the faster route back into Leeds.

I was off to the rugby league, with York taking on Doncaster in a relatively rare mid week evening game.

York lost their wonderful Clarence Street ground in 1989, being replaced by the out of town Huntingdon Stadium.  They went out of business in 2002, the current outfit being a separate concern, though this is often forgotten.  However, they have now exited their new ground as well, as it is supposedly being rebuilt as a communal stadium with the football club, who's Bootham Crescent ground they are currently using, with its fantastic main stand and antique seating.

However, the proposal for the joint ground isn't going well, with the rugby club owner suspicious of the intentions of the council and the football club, and during the week, had threatened to close the rugby club.  Or sue the council.  Or both. 

The game was a classic, with Doncaster racing to a 0-20 half time lead, but with a minute of the game left, it had got to 26-32, at which point York scored a try.  However, they couldn't convert it and Doncaster scored straight from the kick off to win 30-38.

I'd met up with Mike on the train up to York and he had assumed Dai's role of getting in every photo.