Scarborough Cricket Club
Cricket
County Championship
Scarborough
Score:
38
/ 60
Overview
Like the town that it calls home, Scarborough Cricket Club has seen better days. Its pastel blue, accidentally Wes Anderson stands are over a century old and are being held up by special scaffolding as they have been deemed structurally unsound. The wooden benches that provide seating on the North Marine Road side of the ground are speckled with what looks like fossilised bird shit. Its pavilion, with its ancient carpet and fading paintwork, is in desperate need of redecoration. The less said about the tearoom, the better. And yet the place has a certain charm. Don Bradman played here and, unlike many of the venues The Don graced with his presence, Scarborough in 2025 likely still retains many of the features he would have seen back in 1930. Championship fixtures here draw a decent crowd of the Yorkshire faithful and it’s easy to see why. Scarborough has all the hallmarks of a great out-ground: you can place your fold-out chair right on the boundary rope if you so wish; houses and B&Bs look over much of the ground; rolling hills and the sea can be seen from the rest. It also has an almost kitsch, retro feel to it. Before visiting myself, I’d often spoken to county fans who eagerly awaited the fixture list ahead of each season in the hope that their team would be making the trip to the north-east coast. Now, having spent three days there, I can understand the place it holds in many fans’ imaginations. It may not be the prettiest, and it’s certainly not the easiest to get to, but it has a certain je ne sais quoi and, for those used to watching their county cricket in sparsely populated Test grounds, it’s a wonderful change to see such busy stands.
Score Summaries
Atmosphere & Experience: 8
We are talking here about very particular kinds of atmosphere and experience. County cricket generally doesn’t offer rowdy, chanting crowds or overblown pageantry. It provides an altogether more sedate kind of enjoyment. Scarborough adds to it with its anachronistic charm. Imagine yourself on a seaside holiday before EasyJet whisked everyone to Mallorca for less than the price of an intercity train fare. Get an ice cream, sit back in a deck chair, and just enjoy watching the cricket in the sun.
Seats: 7
You’ll have a good view wherever you choose. The main stand at the Peasholm Park end of the ground provides ample seating behind the bowler’s arm. The benches on the North Marine Road side are a throwback but don’t offer a great degree of comfort. Almost all seats are exposed to the elements, which can be challenging given the unpredictability of weather coming in off the North Sea.
Catering: 4
If not for the coffee stand and their phenomenal flapjacks and the local ice cream on offer, this would be a comfortable 1. The on-site tearoom serves only instant coffee and cheap teabags. Food options are limited to fried bacon and egg sandwiches in the morning and fish and chips. On day three, I thought I’d treat myself to some cheesy chips. I hadn’t had them for years and thought it would be in keeping with the whole seaside town thing. The lady staffing the fish and chip van proceeded to put two slices of processed burger cheese on top of my chips and chucked them in microwave. Never again. Bring your own lunch, I implore you.
Facilities: 5
Fairly limited and in need of renovation.
Getting There: 7
If you’re staying in Scarborough, there are plenty of B&Bs close to the ground from which it’ll only be a short walk. If you’re coming in for the day, it’s around a 15-minute walk from both of Scarborough’s train stations. You can travel direct to Scarborough on trains from Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, and Sheffield. Services are semi-frequent.
Getting Away: 7
As above, but in reverse. Relatively straightforward. Best to plan your journey in advance as it’s not quite a case of turning up at the station and jumping straight on a train.