Barbara Hare - heartbeat of Yorkshire women's cricket dies
Barbara Hare, right, who has died of cancer aged 62, was a legend of Yorkshire cricket and one of life’s true characters.
Barbara, the heartbeat of Yorkshire Women’s cricket for many years, lost her battle with cancer after three years of variable health. She was ever-present at Yorkshire games, wherever they were in the country.
Even those who did not know Barbara personally will probably have heard her at one time or another, sharing her opinion from the sidelines.
This was usually with her own team, telling them to tuck their shirts in or very directly pointing out that their fielding was not up to her high exacting standards...something that members of the England squad also became very used to this summer.
Despite over 40 years of involvement, Barbara always claimed not to really know anything about cricket...but someone who travelled so widely, watching all those matches, could not fail to learn a bit about the game, and Barbara put that to very good use. She influenced the game from grassroots to national level.
Following the merger between the Women's Cricket Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board in 1998 she was invited to join the Women’s Cricket Advisory Group, and was never one to shy away from sharing her thoughts. Clearly frustrated by the assertion that "the essence of the meeting would be taken forward" she kept chipping away to make a difference. She was women’s cricket’s representative on the Yorkshire Cricket Board since its inception, and a stalwart of North Riding WCC - now Old Modernians WCC.
As Chairwoman of Yorkshire Women’s Cricket Association she presided over the most successful women's county team to date as Yorkshire won 12 out of 13 Championship titles. One of her crowning moments was going to Buckingham Palace with the team to receive the Championship Trophy from the Duke of Edinburgh - who allegedly dropped it, creating a dent that had to be fixed...or that’s the official story!
What followed were challenging years which saw the retirement of half the Yorkshire Senior squad, understandably contributing to a slump in fortunes. A lesser person may have given up at that point, knowing they had done their bit, but not Barbara, who stuck by and continued to believe in Yorkshire and in each and every one of its players.
Not afraid of progress, Barbara worked closely with the then Director of Cricket, Paul Shaw, to support the development of the winter training programmes and to attract more volunteers to join the Yorkshire coaching and management team.
Barbara held things together during the tough times, finally leaving the chair in 2007 - citing the increase in paperwork and hoop-jumping as the main reason.
This was far from an end to her input to women’s cricket, and she was a regular spectator and commentator at Yorkshire and England games during the summer, uncannily arriving just in time for tea!
She was delighted to be in Australia for the World Cup - and even more delighted for the England girls when they won. Topping it was the success of Yorkshire's Katherine Brunt - whom she had seen grow as a player over the years.
No one was more proud than Barbara when, with two games to go, Yorkshire Seniors took the Division 2 title - finally returning to the top flight. Yet again, despite not being well, she was there to see the nail-biting Under-13 and Under-17 semi-finals against Devon, and two weeks later the finals against Surrey and Sussex - both Yorkshire squads lifting the trophies with superb team performances.
Some will remember the occasionally eccentric Barbara who told it like it was, but there are many, both within and beyond Yorkshire, who have stories to tell of how her good humour, care and support made them laugh or helped them through challenging times and contributed to their continued participation and enjoyment of cricket.
She was talking to the end! Grace was not necessarily a word linked with Barbara, and yet the dignity with which she faced her final challenge shows the true nature of the person. So determined was she not to let people know how bad the illness had become that for many the disbelief at her passing will last for some time. At the core of everything Barbara did lay a simple desire to encourage as many girls and women as posible to play cricket and enjoy the game - setting high standards and striving to win...while enjoying life.
Barbara's pasing leaves a huge gap - but the unflinching and modest dedication, commitment and service she gave so freely to the game laid the sound foundation on which Yorkshire’s successes, both past and present, were based…on which the success of many an individual player is based...a legacy that will live on for many years to come.
She also played in goal and coached hockey to a high standard.
Barbara’s funeral will be held at 1pm on Wednesday, October 14, in Burneston Church (St Lambert: Church Wynd), Burneston, North Yorkshire DL8 2HZ, followed by a reception - probably at Bedale Athletic Sports Association Club, but to be confirmed. Family flowers only, please. There will be a collection in aid of Barbara's chosen charities for cancer research and dogs. A private cremation will be held later in the afternoon.