York Cricket Club's future as a minor county ground was assured this week after groundsman Steve Machen and his volunteer staff received a glowing umpires' report on the high standard of the wicket on which Yorkshire Colts entertained Nottinghamshire.

Both umpires - one of whom, Clive Reynolds of High Marishes, is on the Hunters Estate Agents Yorkshire Senior League panel of umpires - awarded the highest possible marks on the certificate handed to Machen after the game in which Yorkshire beat Nottinghamshire by two wickets after an exciting run-chase in front of a riveted crowd.

It was a top class wicket that could have served for a three-day county match instead of a one-dayer.

Now it is a strip which Duncombe Park CC can look forward to using tomorrow against York's second string in division one of the York and District Senior League.

York seniors travel to Hull tomorrow in the Yorkshire ECB County Premier League with Greg How returning after a holiday back home in Australia.

It might however be his last game for York ahead of his move to Bishop's Stortford to take up an appointment with Sainsburys. How takes over from Tom Pringle.

York's hopes of starting their Yorkshire League Knock Out Cup campaign on Sunday against Hull have been put on hold as three of their players - Simon Mason, Nick Kay and Stephen Piercy - have been selected for the Yorkshire League representative side's quarter-final of the White Rose Trophy competition at Thurstonland against the Huddersfield League.

Yorkshire League team: W Graca (capt), N Harris and A Parkin-Coates (both Doncaster), S Mason, N Kay and S Piercy (York), L Clayton (Castleford), B Hunsley (Barnsley), N White and J Stevenson (both Cleethorpes) and R Swiers (Driffield).

Harrogate's team, in what might eventually prove to be a championship decider against Sheffield Collegiate at St George's Road tomorrow, includes a newcomer from the Bristol area, Rupert Scales.

He has produced a couple of excellent performances in the second team since moving to the area.

Scarborough's registered overseas Aussie, Andy Gray, who played a prominent part in Yorkshire Colts' win over Nottinghamshire at Clifton Park, has qualified to play as an 'English' player.

He will be trying his all-round hand in an unchanged Scarborough side against Cleethorpes, whose Kiwi import, Matthew Sinclair, has already scored hundreds of league runs lately.

It will be interesting to see how Scarborough's Neil Fletcher copes with the Kiwi Test opener after having took nine Hull wickets for only 19 runs two week's ago.

Updated: 12:24 Friday, June 15, 2001