Scarborough has a lot going for it; great atmosphere in which to watch cricket, good cricket wickets, Yorkshire have a tremendous playing record there, large crowds and a great cricket tradition.  All this appears to be just what you would want from a cricket ground, so why would the Club look elsewhere?  The official line from the Club, that after 2010 it will consider it’s options but that it is unlikely that Scarborough will lose Yorkshire cricket completely, is possibly not the unequivocal backing that fans of North Marine Road would wish to hear.  Of course the Club cannot say any more than that publicly, but rumours abound that Scarborough could lose a chunk of the two weeks cricket it enjoys now in favour of Sheffield, Middlesborough or Headingley Carnegie. Bearing in mind what Scarborough has going for it, to consider taking cricket elsewhere would appear to be an illogical decision. Is there more to it than meets the eye? 

Facilities and money must rank high in any decision the Club will take.  

Looking at the facilities side, it has been great to see the introduction of cricket highlights and commentary on the official Yorkshire website but this experiment cannot seemingly happen at Scarborough.  In this era of ever improving technology and the demand from supporters for “instant” cricket coverage is it acceptable from a first-class ground that modern  communication facilities are not available?

Back in 1976 and 1978 Scarborough hosted two One Day Internationals, the problem is that Scarborough’s facilities are virtually unchanged from those days.  If you go to Headingley Carnegie, Lords, The Oval etc. these grounds are almost un-recognisable, in terms of spectator facilities from 30 years ago.  First class sport should be played at first class venues. Those hard wooden benches have plenty of tradition but are they acceptable in 2007?  Catering and hospitality facilities have become an important part of cricket, which is after all an entertainment business; but at Scarborough these types of facilities do not seem to have developed, is this acceptable? 

Money plays an important part of any business. Yorkshire have come back from the brink of financial ruin, so to the Club it is an even more important commodity than to most other counties.  Attendances are high at Scarborough so you would expect that the county makes plenty of money from these games.  Of course we don’t know what the financial arrangements are, you would conclude that if they were to Yorkshire’s liking they would never consider moving away so that begs the questions; who takes the gate money?  Is it split between the club and the ground?  Who gets the money from the bars, score-cards sales etc, etc, etc.  Who is making money out of the popularity of Scarborough?  Scarborough cricket club or Yorkshire County cricket club or both?   

I cannot believe that Yorkshire would want to do anything to alienate its supporters but as rumours about Scarborough’s future continue you can only conclude that there must be more behind this debate than is currently in the public domain.

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