A little capsule show where we followed up on our discussion in Episode 61 about the crisis enveloping Elland Cricket Club. Jamie invited Ben Speak onto the podcast to try and iron out some of the speculation regarding the league’s most successful club.

A huge turnover of players in recent years has left what was always one of the league’s flagship clubs in a state of flux. The last three matches of 2023 they were forced to concede which accelerated their third relegation in only eight years to leave their first team in the fourth tier.

Ben was one of the recently departed players and now plays his cricket at Bradford League club Lightcliffe after spending his whole career up to now playing at Hullen Edge. From starting as a junior in 2003, he was coached by some of the best local players around. He dedicated a lot of his time serving on the cricket committee, so he was well placed to talk to us about his experiences and how he saw the club evolve towards how it is today.

The unique model the club adopted was something Ben enlightened us on, and how they went from a position of strength to tumbling down the divisions.