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Indian Express

Away from the field, another battle brews between Yorkshire clubs, that of ‘cricket teas'

A tea break for a club cricket game in the sub-continent is typically a quick round of cutting chai. In case the hosts are generous, there may be a plate of biscuits and a few odd wafers thrown in. In Yorkshire, England's deeply traditional county with 800 clubs and over 125,000 recreational players, tea can't be light, nor can it be taken lightly. Around here, clubs have designated 'tea ladies', the honour bestowed on the wife, daughter or sister of a home player who plays host as sandwiches, cakes, scones, and, of course, tea is served. But with that spread, a club can't expect to win the fiercely contested 'Cricket Yorkshire Tea of the Year' competition that's sponsored by, who else, Yorkshire Tea. In its fourth year, the contest has been announced and alongwith the smell of freshly cut grass from the cricket field, there's the ovens sending out the tempting whiff of cakes getting baked. The first winner of this 'Battle of Teas' was a North Yorkshire club, Ripon. 'They had an almost formal sit-down tea. There were two tables, white tablecloth, proper cooked gammon (smoked or cured ham). It was a sort of a proper English lunch experience you might have,' says John Fuller, who initiated this cricketing bake-off to keep alive the sumptuous cricketing tradition. Fuller runs the website Yorkshire Cricket, a virtual Wisden for all small clubs. Though the contest rules specify a budget limit to clubs and insist on the spread being 'home-made', the variety is heady. Fuller's write-up on last year's contest is mouth-wateringly detailed. In dressing rooms across Yorkshire the tea-time offering had tomato and mozzarella salad, coleslaw, pulled pork and apple sauce, honey and sesame sticky sausages, sweet chili chicken enchiladas, homemade pizza, quiche, scones, pork pies and piles of glistening salad with crisp radishes. That's beyond the cakes, brownies and breads. In years to come, the contest is expected to get spicier with a few Indian clubs. Interlink mainly has cricketers with roots in India and a local restaurant called Azim, too, has a cricket team. 'At Interlink, they have a kind of 'family day' each year, where family members of each player come with a dish from their part of India. It makes for a really varied cricket team with lots of curries and samosa chaat,' says Fuller. The wheels of the competition get rolling with Fuller calling for entries on his Cricket Yorkshire website. Those willing to participate put pictures of their tea spread. Word of mouth appreciation, along with some field trips during tea time, decide the winner. The final call on the winner is made by Fuller and the Yorkshire representative, Abigail Sawyer. What about the prizes? It's mostly about 1,500 tea bags for the winner and a special treat for the chef volunteers. 'We give a yearly quota of Yorkshire tea and we also pay the ladies or gentlemen who prepare the tea. We also send them to a really posh teahouse. They get champagne and afternoon tea, so for once they don't have to make it and get to enjoy it,' says Sawyer, who didn't play the game but was a regular at games for tea. Cricket, in English towns and villages, remains a family activity. Following the fortunes of the local club would be sons, daughters and mothers. The reason cricket — even Tests in England draw crowds — is alive and kicking is the community support for the sport in every small village. 'Families are very much plugged into the game. In the longer format of the game, a proper tea is important. This is a proper pause where everyone can just take a breath, stop appealing for lbw, and have a cup of tea,' says Fuller. Sawyer goes back to her days of hosting 'cricket tea'. 'Me and my mum did cricket teas and I've got amazing memories from when I was a youngster. Two opposing teams coming together to have a cup of tea, eat together, and that has a sense of community that puts all kinds of competitive spirit aside for the moment,' she says. The contest started post-Covid since, during the 'social distancing' phase of the pandemic, the old tea tradition was being missed. 'You weren't allowed to prepare any food at the clubs. So everyone would come off the pitch and then disappear to their cars, eat their food. Largely, no one would speak to each other. I didn't like it at all. It felt very disjointed,' says Fuller. 'So when those pandemic time rules relaxed, it wasn't easy to find volunteers. But a lot of clubs in Yorkshire thought something needed to be done and it was important to have tea.' Sawyer says cricket teas are hard work and Fuller comes up with an anecdote to stress this point. He recently went to a small village club where England's brightest batting star, Harry Brook, once played. It proved a low-scoring match and resulted in panic in the clubhouse. 'I was in the clubhouse, seeing what was going on there. And the lady doing tea had to suddenly produce food for 20 to 30 people an hour quicker. Imagine a cafe or restaurant having to do that. But I kind of think people who do the teas are magicians,' says Fuller.