Roses match

The Roses Match refers to any game of cricket played between Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club. Yorkshire's emblem is the white rose, while Lancashire's is the red rose. The associations go back to the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century. These matches have a long and proud history and are traditionally the hardest fought matches in the English first class game, with many dour draws recorded as both teams battled to avoid the ignominy of defeat.

The term is occasionally used in connection with other sports where Lancashire play Yorkshire, such as rugby union and rugby league (War of the Roses).

The first First Class Match between Yorkshire and Lancashire was in 1849 with Yorkshire winning by 5 wickets at the Hyde Park Ground in Sheffield. The very first "Roses Match" was played in 1867 at the Station Road Cricket Ground, Whalley near Blackburn and was won by Yorkshire by 5 wickets. The first match in the newly constituted County Championship, in 1890, ended in the inevitable draw. Including first class matches, second team fixtures, one day games and other representative matches there have been over 600 Roses Matches over the century and a half since the first one.

In the match played over the Whitsuntide bank holiday in June 1924 Lancashire were skittled for just 74 in their second innings, leaving Yorkshire a target of just 58 the next day. Despite opening with Percy Holmes and Herbert Sutcliffe Yorkshire were dispatched for just 33 by Cecil Parkin and Dick Tyldesley, Lancashire's first win in Yorkshire for 25 years.

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