CRICKETERS from across the area will be at Sheriff Hutton Bridge tomorrow to take part in a special match to mark 40 years of unstinting service to York-area cricket by one man, writes Claire Hughes.

Albert Pattison started compiling reports on the York and District League for the Press in the 1965 season when he was made assistant secretary of the league.

This season will mark his 40th year of late nights and tight deadlines and a Sheriff Hutton Bridge XI will come up against a Pattison Select XI as a tribute to the stalwart.

He said: "It gets a bit wearing. By the end of the season you are looking forward to it all being over, but I do enjoy it.

"It's nice knowing what's going on in the league."

Having so many years experience behind him helps fill in the gaps for the reports with statistics - and makes life hard for those who step into the breach when he is away.

After years of struggling to find volunteers, he now splits the tasks in two to make it less daunting as he regularly works through from 7.30pm to 2.30am to make sure everyone gets the information they want in time.

When he first started, there were just three divisions and copy was typed out on a dozen carbon copies for the various papers for the Tuesday.

The results were later phoned through on a Monday morning. But with the expansion to seven divisions and the birth of the email system, things have moved into the 21st century.

Pattison said: "The fact that the league has grown so much over the years is a good thing. We have got some highly regarded players in the league and the standards have risen.

"Back in the 1960s we were seen as a minor league, but this year we are regarded as one of the best in the county."

Pattison, now 64, who is still on the playing books at Rowntree Seconds having played at Sheriff Hutton Bridge from 1958 to 1992, now feels he may be close to hanging up his bat and pads - but not his pen.

"I'm having this game to mark the occasion but I'm not packing it in," he said.

The Pattison XI will feature Martin Piercy, the captain of league champions Easingwold as well as former international Collis King and other league names from past and present.

The 40-over match starts at Sheriff Hutton Bridge at 1.30pm on Sunday.

Updated: 10:17 Saturday, September 11, 2004