Frizzell County Championship

Yorkshire versus Gloucestershire

At Headingley

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
17, 18, 19 and 20 September 2024

By Roy D Wilkinson


Of the fifteen County Championship matches Gloucestershire have so far played at Headingley they have won only two - in 1992 and in 1997. Yorkshire have won eight with the remaining five being left drawn.

Gloucestershire’s first match at Headingley was in 1894 and Yorkshire won easily enough in the end by 26 runs in a low scoring game that saw only 376 runs scored for the loss of all 40 wickets. It was a match of dramatic collapses and one remarkable recovery. After Yorkshire had made 140, W G Grace and J J Ferris got the Gloucestershire innings off to a bright start, putting on 65 for the first wicket. The remaining wickets fell mainly to Bobby Peel and Stanley Jackson who combined to leave Gloucestershire all out for 108 - nine wickets falling for only 43 runs. In a remarkable spell of fast bowling by Fred Roberts and Arthur Newnham Yorkshire were reduced to 19 for 9. George Hirst, with 26, and David Hunter, who remained undefeated on 16, added 42 for the last wicket to take the score to 61. This remains the record 10th wicket partnership for Yorkshire versus Gloucestershire at Headingley.

Needing just 94 to win Gloucestershire found Ted Wainwright just about unplayable and were dismissed for 67 - Wainwright taking 7 for 34 in 27.4 overs.

The two Gloucestershire bowlers provided a contrast in more ways than one. Roberts, a professional, was right-arm fast and played 260 matches for his county, taking 963 wickets at 21.97. Newnham bowled left-arm fast. Serving as an Army Captain (later Lt.-Colonel) his appearances were severely affected by his military service in India and he played only 16 matches spread over eight seasons, taking just 42 wickets at 21.14.

The 1902 match was won by Yorkshire by an innings and 91 runs. Again batting collapses were the order of the two days (rain prevented play on the second day of three). At one stage Yorkshire were 222 for 4 wickets but fell to 253 all out with Ted Spry’s leg-breaks taking 8 for 83. Gloucestershire were soon dismissed for 46 (batting ten men as Mr Herbert Manners had failed to appear). Schofield Haigh and Wilfred Rhodes bowled unchanged in an innings that lasted just 20.1 overs. In the follow-on Gloucestershire had made good progress to 84 for 2, before Haigh and Rhodes took the last eight wickets for 32 runs to leave Gloucestershire 116 all out and losers by that innings margin. During the course of the match Gilbert Collett had taken the place of the absent Manners and, going in at number seven in the second inning, was bowled Haigh 0.

Superior spin-bowling by Ellis Robinson and Arthur Booth was, without doubt, the major factor in Yorkshire winning the 1946 encounter by 9 wickets. Both sides had the classic combination of right-arm off-breaks and slow left-arm. Robinson and Booth took a total of 14 wickets for 108 runs in the match. For Gloucestershire, Tom Goddard and Cec Cook could muster only six wickets between them for 136 runs. It was not only his nine wickets for 72 that made this a memorable match for Robinson. Going in with Yorkshire precariously placed at 123 for 7, a lead of only seventeen, he made a massive contribution with 51 to take Yorkshire to a more comfortable 188 all out and a lead of 82. After Alec Coxon had removed the dangerous Charlie Barnett the spin twins hustled Gloucestershire out for just 89 leaving a Yorkshire win a mere formality.

The drawn 1976 game provided the only instance in Yorkshire’s history of six individual centuries in a match. For Yorkshire John Hampshire made 155*, Colin Johnson 102 and in the second innings Geoffrey Boycott made 161* and Richard Lumb 132. For Gloucestershire Zaheer Abbas made 188, with Sadiq Mohammad 107.

In 1987 Yorkshire won by 44 runs after both sides had forfeited an innings. Richard Blakey scored his 204* and this remains Yorkshire’s highest individual score versus Gloucestershire.

The two Gloucestershire wins at Headingley were comprehensive, in 1992 by 147 runs and in 1997 by 164 runs. In 1992 solid batting down the order saw Gloucestershire to 411 - their highest score on the ground. Although Peter Hartley’s 5 for 48 put out the visitors for 142 second time round, it was more than enough as Yorkshire, after 272 in the first innings with Sachin Tendulkar making 92, folded before Courtney Walsh in the second for 134 (Walsh 7 for 27).

It was Dewsbury-born Mike Smith who was the main destroyer of Yorkshire in 1997. 6 for 58 in the first innings was followed by 4 for 74 in the second. The second Gloucestershire innings of 388 was unusual in that all ten batsmen, plus extras, got to double figures.

If 1946 was Robinson’s match so the 1999 game was Gavin Hamilton’s. To his 81* and 14* he added 4 for 26 and 3 for 33 to give Yorkshire a win by 81 runs.

As we all know, inspired individual performances change many a match. With so much at stake over the next four days we may see examples aplenty of great innings, inspired spells of bowling, electric fielding, courageous captaincy. Let us hope that it will be a match to remember.

Since 1872 these two counties have met 197 times in the County Championship, Yorkshire have won 100, Gloucestershire 43 and 54 have been drawn.

Highest totals
By Yorkshire 504 for 7 dec at Bradford in 1905
By Gloucestershire 574 at Cheltenham in 1990

Lowest totals
By Yorkshire 35 at Bristol in 1959
By Gloucestershire 36 at Sheffield in 1903

Highest individual score
For Yorkshire 204* by R J Blakey at Leeds in 1987
For Gloucestershire 318*by W G Grace at Cheltenham in 1876

Best bowling in an innings
For Yorkshire 9 for 25 by S Haigh at Leeds in 1912
For Gloucestershire 9 for 36 by C W L Parker at Bristol in 1922

Best bowling in a match
For Yorkshire 14 for 64 by R Illingworth at Harrogate in 1967
For Gloucestershire 15 for 79 by W G Grace at Sheffield in 1872