Cricket’s oldest rivalry was given a new “spin” on Saturday when the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire were represented by teams made up of Imams and Priests in a limited overs match dubbed “Love (not war) of the Roses”.
The event – organized by Kumon Y’All, a Dewsbury based youth project aimed at breaking down barriers between Muslim and Christian communities – was held at the sports field of the Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield.
Yorkshire went in to bat first. It was tense play - especially with the Bishop of Manchester’s left hand overarm. But in the end they emerged victorious by six runs!
Organiser Farook Yunus said: "This is to show the wider communities of Lancashire and Yorkshire that even though we may look different or have different faiths, we have much more in common."
The Bishop of Huddersfield, who was away, sent a message to be read out:
Cricket is a great way to bring people together across different faith communities in this part of the world – and there is no better way to bring Yorkshire folk together than in a competition with Lancashire!
I am delighted that a group of our local clergy and imams will be uniting for a bit of friendly cross-Pennine rivalry on the cricket field. Some good might yet come out of the War of the Roses – whatever the result on this occasion!
A similar game took place last year, with a team of Yorkshire-based clergy taking on local Imams and cleric from the Muslim Community.