Yorkshire

On 7 March 1861, during a meeting at the Adelphi Hotel in Sheffield, a Match Fund Committee was established to run Yorkshire county matches. The committee was made up from the management committee of the Bramall Lane ground and representatives from clubs willing to pay £1 to the fund. But the committee was unable to persuade other clubs that it was not seeking to promote Sheffield cricket and a lack of funds prevented some matches being played in 1862.

By this time, there were several cricketers with good reputations and the county team was one of the strongest in England. Consequently, on 8 January 1863, Yorkshire County Cricket Club was formed. Membership was unlimited and cost a minimum of 10s and 6d.

Like most first-class cricket clubs of the time, Yorkshire relied on private patronage with administrators "paying to serve" and "moneyed enthusiasts" acting as ready match sponsors. The majority of players were freelance professionals who were paid a usual match fee of £5, from which all travel and accommodation had to be paid. Travel could be arduous, living away from home could be "rough" and sometimes the match fee was not enough to cover expenses, especially if, as was often a problem with early Yorkshire cricketers, "the ale-house was a temptation".

The first club President was former player Thomas Barker, who had become Mayor of Sheffield, although he probably never attended any meetings. Michael Ellison was the first club Treasurer and at some point early in Yorkshire's history, he assumed the Presidency. Most official accounts record Ellison as Yorkshire's first President.

Joseph ("J. ") Wostinholm became the first of four long-serving club Secretaries in 1864. The first team captain was Roger Iddison, a professional cricketer.

The objective of the club was to play matches "either in Sheffield or in any other towns of the county according as arrangements may be made". Other locations in Yorkshire were unable or unwilling to host fixtures in the first years of the club, and Bradford and York continued to attempt to organise games in competition with Yorkshire, sometimes causing confusion among other counties. Attempts to form an alternative Yorkshire team continued intermittently until 1884 although, by 1873, most clubs had accepted the authority of the Sheffield-based county club.