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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Ben Bloom

Keeping cricket societies buoyant through winter is vital for future of the sport

Fans at Scarborough's North Marine Road ground watch Yorkshire play.
The spread of franchise leagues threatens to change everything county cricket has stood for since the Victorian age. Photograph: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com/Shutterstock

Hidden behind trees in the gloom of dimly lit street lamps, the Lees Hall Golf Club is easy to miss on a dank autumnal evening. As I park – having turned around after initially driving straight past – and step out of my car, the only signs of life in the deserted car park come from another vehicle out of which two men in their later years emerge.

“Is this the right place for the cricket meeting?” I enquire. “It is,” one of them replies. “And I’m guessing by the fact you’re half the age of anyone else coming tonight that you’re the guest speaker.”

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