Strong Yorkshire, Strong England Mantra Will Be Up For Debate Again

Chris Pratt pores over decades of statistics to analyse one of cricket’s great theories.

- Chris Pratt

When Yorkshire are strong, England are strong. As per the famous saying often heard on the Western Terrace as England slay another Test nation at Headingley. Also often heard over the radio waves of Test Match Special as Geoffrey Boycott, standard bearer of Yorkshire cricket, lauds another century plundered from a Yorkshire bat. But is it true? And can it be proven?

I was present in Leeds last summer as Jonny Bairstow scored his maiden domestic Test century against an inexperienced Sri Lanka team arguably intimidated by the atmosphere in the ground that day. Bairstow was imperious and despite being on the international scene for a while it seemed another Yorkshire hero was born.

Fred Trueman, Michael Vaughan and Sir Leonard Hutton had claimed this mantle in previous years.

It is clear that the White Rose has contributed greatly to the nation’s cricket team over the years, but to what extent?

The origins of the famous saying are unclear as Vic Marks pointed out in his article in The Guardian in November 2014. Marks went on to quote the Yorkshire Post columnist Chris Waters after Yorkshire’s 2014 County Championship triumph. Waters’ quotes mirror the depth of feeling for cricket in the county.

“For what is cricket without Yorkshire? Yorkshire is cricket, or at least it is to the people of Yorkshire. This is God’s own county, a God that created cricket, a God that created Yorkshire cricket with all its serpents in the garden, its many imperfections, but also its wondrous, aweinspiring beauty and capacity to inspire. The old adage that a ‘strong Yorkshire is a strong England’ really means that a strong Yorkshire is essential to the health of English cricket in general.”