YORKSHIRE CCC's 2020 fixtures have been released - with York set to play host to two of the Tykes' Royal London Cup matches.

After First-Class cricket returned to the York in 2019 - the first time since a Championship match at Wigginton Road in 1890 when Yorkshire beat Kent - Clifton Park is also scheduled to host two List A matches within the space of 72 hours, welcoming Northamptonshire and Surrey in the Royal London Cup.

This forms part of a three-year agreement which promised List A cricket to the city for 2020 and 2021.

The White Rose begin the 2020 domestic campaign against newly-promoted Gloucestershire at Emerald Headingley (April 12). Former Yorkshire spinner Richard Dawson and his charges - who finished third in Division Two and will feature in the top flight for the first time in 16 years - are slated to play at Emerald Headingley on Easter Sunday, on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship season.

The Club’s first away fixture of a six-week period of four-day cricket comes when Andrew Gale’s side travel to The Cloudfm County Ground to take on Champions Essex (April 19), with other home matches against Surrey (April 25) – a Saturday start - and Kent (May 15) also scheduled.

“York did really well last year,” said Yorkshire CEO Mark Arthur of the upcoming county game in the Minster city. “We enjoyed it and the spectators enjoyed it too. We had a lovely letter from Warwickshire County Cricket Club to say how well organised they thought the whole match was. They were very, very complimentary to York, indeed.

"This year we have been working with the ECB to try and concentrate four games of cricket within a 12-day period. So there will be two 50-over matches, early in that period, and later on there will be two women’s Hundred matches.

“The important thing about having four days of cricket at York, four days of single cricket, is that we can build an infrastructure similar to the one that was in place for the Championship matches. Therefore, it makes sure that we can spread the overheads much wider than if you just had a one-off game. You simply wouldn’t be able to build a temporary stand similar to the one we had for the game there last year.”

The Royal London Cup Final is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 19, at Trent Bridge in front of the Sky cameras, while T20 Finals Day will once again be staged at Edgbaston on September 5.

Perhaps the most notable date for your calendar and, one which is sure to prove incredibly popular with members and supporters, falls on Sunday, June 14 with the visit of rivals Lancashire to Scarborough and North Marine Road for the first time since 1991. The 134th Scarborough Cricket Festival will see Warwickshire visit the east coast on August 23.

With home Vitality Blast fixtures against Derbyshire (June 10) and Northants Steelbacks (June 12) also scheduled, this block of cricket represents the first of two week-long periods involving six days of cricket respectively.

Director of cricket Martyn Moxon said: “I played in a Roses match at Scarborough back in the day. It was a fantastic atmosphere and occasion. The way it has worked out makes it a massively attractive occasion. It’s brilliant at the best of times, but to play Lancashire there is a real bonus for the Scarborough Club and hopefully we’ll get a big attendance.

“We hope the weather is good at that time of year, but hopefully with decent weather it will be a fantastic occasion. That first period represents a big chunk of the Championship season and there are a lot of attractive fixtures at that point in the season.”

The second of those busy periods includes a trip to Grace Road to face Leicestershire (June 25), followed by a home fixture against Worcestershire Rapids the following day in the Vitality Blast, before welcoming Essex to Emerald Headingley for a four-day match against Sunday June 28.

The side's one and only County Championship match against Somerset gets underway on Saturday, August 29 at Taunton.

The Vikings’ Royal London Cup campaign gets underway with the visit of Nottinghamshire on Sunday, July 19, at Scarborough. That represents the first of two 50-over games at North Marine Road with Warwickshire visiting the same venue just five days later.

“The two extra days' cricket at Scarborough is a positive off-shoot of the Hundred being played at Emerald Headingley,” said Yorkshire CEO Mark Arthur. “Those matches will be played in the school holidays and this gives Scarborough the opportunity to attract two really good crowds.”

The Vikings will begin their Vitality Blast campaign at Emerald Headingley for the 13th successive season. They take on rivals Durham under the floodlights (May 29) the first of three popular home Friday night fixtures, the other two being Northants Steelbacks (June 12) and Worcestershire Rapids (June 26). The final home T20 against Leicestershire on Sunday, July 12 has been earmarked as a family fun day.

The much-anticipated home Roses clash, sold out for the past seven seasons, will take place on Thursday, June 4, under the floodlights and in front of the Sky cameras, while the reverse fixture has been locked in for July 10.

Moxon added: “Bringing Dawid (Malan) in improves our squad, as well as (Nicholas) Pooran - so long as nothing goes wrong - for the majority of the qualifying period gives us a strong look on paper. I’m really looking forward to making a claim in that particular format this coming summer.”

The curtain comes down on the 2020 season on September 22 with Yorkshire travelling to the Kia Oval to face Surrey in the Championship.