AT a time when there is no sport taking place I’ve been cheered by recent news from the world of cricket.
The current coronavirus lockdown has not just prevented live sport taking place for many weeks and possibly months, but also put many professional sports clubs in jeopardy.
At the end of all this both governing bodies and their member clubs will face many challenges.
That is why they will need the right leadership – people who can not just see where they need to go but lead their organisations on the challenging journey there too.
I was pleased to see that Sean Jarvis, the incredibly likeable and talented commercial director of Huddersfield Town has recently been appointed chief executive of Leicestershire County Cricket Club.
Sean has spent the last 14 years with the Terriers, a period in which they rose from League One to the Premier League and has been the architect of many groundbreaking commercial and community initiatives.
I remember chairing a panel discussion on overseas trade at the John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield during the club’s successful first season in the Premier League.
Sean told the audience how partnerships were being created in China – helped by the fact it was the Chinese Year of the Dog and the club’s nickname is the Terriers.
He has a huge depth of experience in sport and once bought Oldham Athletic for a pound.
I don’t know whether he got change.
He moves into his new role at Grace Road at the end of June and will have plenty of challenges to face.
But for a Leicester lad it will be an opportunity Sean will be relishing and I wish him well.
And for a Yorkshire lad, particularly one called Hutton, becoming chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club is some achievement too.
Roger Hutton, the joint managing partner of Leeds law firm Clarion, has been named the new chairman of YCCC.
He takes over from stalwart Robin Smith, the man credited with masterminding the survival of the club when it teetered on the financial brink back in 2002.
I’ve known Robin a long time, since his days as a top lawyer at DLA Piper; he is charming, self-effacing but tough and gets things done.
He’ll always been celebrated for what he has done for YCCC.
Now Roger becomes chairman and he is a good lawyer and a good man too.
He will be supported by vice chairman Neil Hartley, a former Yorkshire cricketer who is now an insurance broker with Bluefin.
The off-the-pitch team at Yorkshire has plenty of commercial nous too.
In fact, in moving from football to cricket, Sean Jarvis is following in the footsteps of YCCC chief executive Mark Arthur who used to be at Nottingham Forest and commercial director Andy Dawson who was at Derby County for many years.
On and off the pitch, Yorkshire County Cricket Club looks to be in good hands.
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Parky’s Video Clip of the Week
What I’m looking forward to this week
I’VE signed up as an NHS volunteer and after reading a newsletter email from Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake I’ve also been accepted as a Community Care Volunteer in the city.
I did my first volunteering work this week – going to buy groceries for a local couple who are ‘shielding’- those who are at high risk of severe infection from coronavirus because of an underlying health condition.
They were hugely grateful when I dropped their shopping off.
It was a simple job for me to do but I was glad to have done something small to help and hope I can do more.
What I noticed from my shopping trip was their small indulgence for the week was a packet of Tunnock’s caramel wafers to enjoy with a cup of tea.
Whereas mine tends to be about a dozen bottles of wine.
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Reasons to be cheerful
SPRING certainly is in the air.
There is a plethora of wildlife just waiting to be viewed, right on your doorstep.
And you don’t have to live in the heart of the country to enjoy the experience – just open a window.
This week I’ve seen Lapwings soaring above fields newly sown with wheat, emitting their call like an American police car siren as they tumble towards the ground.
If you’ve never seen a Lapwing before it has a hairstyle similar to Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
But less assists.
I’ve enjoyed seeing a song thrush belting out a spring song perched high up in the branches of a tree.
I’ve seen a pair of mute swans nesting on my local pond and was confronted by toads mating next to my backdoor step.
Not so much Froggy Went a Courtin’ as Froggy got his legover.
I’ve also fed a great tit seed from my hand in Golden Acre Park in Leeds.
The 136-acre park has been a popular attraction for the people of the city since it opened in 1932 as a theme park with a miniature railway (film star Anna Neagle once launched one of the trains).
But it is currently very quiet as the council have closed the car parks.
The top car park is a popular location for dogging.
I’m told.
Have a great Easter weekend