Yorkshire do like to be beside the seaside for Cup ties

On July 30 1969 – nine days after man first walked on the moon – Yorkshire played their first-ever one-day fixture at the seaside ground: a Gillette Cup semi-final against Garry Sobers's

Nottinghamshire.

Yorkshire won by 68 runs and then beat Derbyshire by 69 runs in the final at Lord's.

Andrew Gale and his team need look no further for inspiration as they seek to round off their season with a well-deserved trophy.

Unlike this time, when Yorkshire are prevented from playing a semi-final at their Headingley headquarters due to tomorrow's one-day international between England and Pakistan, the county purposefully chose to visit Scarborough 41 years ago.

The venue had previously only staged first-class cricket and festival games, but Yorkshire were keen to make use of their out-ground facilities.

Back then, Yorkshire still played at Bradford, Sheffield, Middlesbrough, Hull and Harrogate in addition to Headingley and Scarborough.

But the decision to go to the coast backfired as the ground was not big enough to cope with the vast demand for tickets.

The match attracted a record North Marine Road crowd of 15,242, who paid 5,230 in receipts.

The gates were closed early in the day, with thousands locked out on the streets outside.

For former Yorkshire and England batsman Phil Sharpe, memories of that day remain vivid in the memory.

Sharpe won the man-of-the-match award for an innings of 67 and remembers well the jam-packed scenes.

"The crowd was absolutely enormous," recalls Sharpe, 73. "Thousands of people were unable to get in.

"There was talk of some 4,000-5,000 being locked out – I don't know whether that's true – and there were people climbing over fences and all sorts.

"The atmosphere was electric and a terrific inspiration.

"I remember a number of people at the time said, 'Why on earth did Yorkshire play the semi-final at Scarborough?'

"They thought the game should have been played at Headingley.

"But it was summertime, you see, and a lot of people were on holiday.

"The club thought it was a good idea to take the game to the coast."

After Yorkshire plunged to 3-2 after being sent into bat, Geoffrey Boycott falling for a duck and Barrie Leadbeater dismissed for one, Sharpe and Doug Padgett rode to the rescue.

They added 101 for the third wicket in 100 minutes to wrest back the initiative, Padgett chipping in with 47 as Yorkshire made 191 in 59.4 overs.

Their greatest challenge was combating Sobers.

The West Indian all-rounder – by common consent the greatest cricketer to have played the game – opened the bowling and returned miserly figures of 1-12 from as many overs with eight maidens.

"We basically blocked Sobers and scored off the rest," recalls Sharpe, who scored 22,530 first-class runs at 30.73 and was renowned as one of the game's great slip fielders.

"That was pretty much the only game-plan we had.

"Garry was a brilliant bowler who could do absolutely everything.

"He was at his best as a seam and swing bowler and was so deadly because he came across you all the time and then he'd nip one back."

Whereas Sharpe remembers Yorkshire's total as "reasonable", it would be utterly unacceptable by modern standards.

A run-rate of just over three an over would be laughed at nowadays, and it is a stark fact that Darren Lehmann once scored 191 off his own bat at Scarborough in a one-day game against Nottinghamshire from just 103 balls.

"It was a completely different way of playing one-day cricket in those days," says Sharpe, who played 12 Tests.

"We played the game normally, with people trying to get people out and with men around the bat.

"In those days, the bowlers bowled bloody straight all the time and on a length. It was very difficult to score off."

Nottinghamshire's reply was even more sedate.

After making good progress to 40-0, the visitors collapsed as Chris Old and Peter Stringer each took three wickets.

Legend has it that when Old removed Sobers for 20, the cheer could be heard several miles away.

Nottinghamshire were dismissed for 123 in 50.1 overs to ensure the vast majority of spectators went home happy.

Sharpe fared less well in the final, managing only three runs on a day when Leadbeater was Yorkshire's hero.

The opening batsman top-scored with 76 as Yorkshire made 219, Derbyshire managing only 150 as Close and Don Wilson each took three wickets.

"We had a good side back then in all forms of cricket," adds Sharpe.

"We were covered for all types of cricket and all types of conditions.

"We had bowlers who could swing it, bowlers who could seam it, you name it.

"It was a privilege to play for Yorkshire at that time."

Can Yorkshire's class of 2010 emulate the success of Sharpe and his team-mates?

Sharpe sees no reason why not.

"They seem to be playing really well this year and I'm really delighted for them," he says.

"They've had a heck of a good season for such a young side and it would be brilliant if they could round it off by winning a trophy."

How Yorkshire won the cup

n 1st round: Norfolk (Lakenham) Won by 69 runs.

n 2nd round: Lancashire (Old Trafford) Won by seven wickets.

n Quarter-final: Surrey (The Oval) Won by 138 runs.

n Semi-final: Nottinghamshire (Scarborough) Won by 68 runs.

n Final: Derbyshire (Lord's) Won by 69 runs.