Ashley Matcalfe

Ashley Metcalfe is a former first class cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1983 to1995 and for Notts in 1996 and 1997. He was an attacking opening batsman scoring a hundred on his debut for Yorkshire and was the Cricket Writers Club Young Player of the Year, coming close to being selected for that winter's Ashes tour. He continued to score well, forming a solid opening partnership with Martyn Moxon, compiling an unbroken opening partnership of 242 against Warwickshire in a One Day match in 1990 at Headingley. His best year came in the summer of 1990 when he made 2047 at 51.17, including another six hundreds. In between, he was a key part of Yorkshire's 1987 B&H success, winning four Gold Awards as well as scoring more one-day runs in the summer than anyone else. He left Yorkshire for Nottinghamshire in 1995 after a successful benefit year and he retired at the end of 1997. He continued to play Minor County cricket for Cumberland.

He scored nearly12,000 first-class runs.

After finishing playing, he developed a career in marketing. He was responsible for launching the commercial department at Yorkshire and played a significant role for a decade in maximising Sharp Electronics sponsorship of Manchester United FC. He also played an important role in John Smith’s sponsorship of Great Britain Rugby League.

He was subsequently appointed as CEO of British weightlifting before moving to a similar role at British Canoeing in 2022.

Ashley proved to be an interesting and entertaining speaker. He shared anecdotes of his cricketing career including batting with Geoffrey Boycott, facing a hostile Mike Hendrick on his debut and batting against a very quick Michael Holding at Queen’s Park. He offered honest and considered responses to some challenging questions, building on both his cricketing and marketing experiences.

Neil Swanwick

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