A 'remarkable' cricket ground – right here in Teesdale

RABY Castle’s iconic cricket ground has taken its place along side some of the best known arenas across the world in a new book.
Remarkable Cricket Grounds features 78 of the most unusual or picturesque places where the game is played – including the frozen lake in front of the promenade at St Moritz where each February a match is played.
Coniston cricket ground, Cumbria, and Bamburgh Castle CC, in Northumberland, are also featured in the collection.
England test grounds at Lord’s, The Oval, Old Trafford and Headingley are included as are more unusual venues, such as Spaniada Square, in Corfu, and Spout House, Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, where the outfield is allowed to grow wild.
Author Brian Levison describes the book as a celebration of some of the most stunning places to watch and play cricket across five continents.
In the accompanying description of Raby Castle, he notes the ground was the site of the first officially recorded game of cricket ever played in Durham, in 1751 – a match between the Earl of Northumberland’s XI and the Duke of Cleveland’s XI.
He also goes on to described some of Raby’s unique playing conditions.
“Unlike some other grounds, hitting a tree at Raby is not an automatic four and batsmen have to keep on running unless the ball crosses the boundary.
“This begs the question what would happen if the ball got lodged in the upper branches and took five minutes to recover.
“You can’t be caught off a rebound though.”
He also notes that unlike many grounds, the wicket faces east-west.
“Following the loss of some trees, play is occasionally suspended because of the sun, or bowling only takes place from one end.”
Raby Castle CC’s Bernard Poole said it was the second time the club had received wider attention in print after being featured on the cover of Laurence Griffith's book From The Boundary’s Edge, which was published on 2011.