A man from Yorkshire has given an indication to friends that, after having endured so many years without attending a cricket match, he now spends hours dreaming about hearing the thwack of leather against willow again.
Moys Kenwood, 55, was reminiscing with friends about times gone by, when they would go to The Circle on Anlaby Road in Hull to see the annual John Player League match on a Sunday between Yorkshire and their rivals, such as Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Hampshire, or even Glamorgan.
The matches were 40-over duels that were, more-often-than-not, interrupted by a shower of rain, which always meant that spectators always arrived home late for their tea.
Kenwood remembered one occasion when, faced with Derbyshire's lowly total of only 140 from their 40 overs, Yorkshire contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, when the catastrophic run-out of Chris Old, when he was on 58, saw them come up just two runs short, finishing on 138 for 7 after their allotted 40 overs.
He also recalled better times when the Tykes entertained Surrey in 1979, limiting their opponents to only 128 for 3, despite a gutsy knock of 62 from England's Graham Roope. The home side then knocked off the required total with the loss of only four wickets with four overs to spare, Jim Love and Kevin Sharp seeing Yorkshire over the line.
The Circle, as a cricket ground, was swallowed up in 2002 when Hull City Council funded the building of what is currently known as the KCOM Stadium, the new home of both Hull City Association Football Club, and their rugby league neighbours, Hull FC.
Kenwood also thought about how, in 1975, whilst attending the England v. Australia Test match at Headingley with his dad, he had been disappointed when the final day's play had to be cancelled, after activists trying to secure the release of robber George Davis from prison, had crept into the ground overnight, dug up part of the wicket with knives and forks, and poured motor oil over one end of it..
He also dreamt about trips to the cricket ground at Scarborough with his dad, during holidays spent there with his family, and of fish and chips after the game, reflecting, sadly, that those days were never coming back.
