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27

May 2023

Last Updated: 26/05/2023
Community
Community

Harrogate cricket club captain aiming for success after relegation survival

by Calvin Robinson Chief Reporter

| 27 May, 2023
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willbates
Will Bates, captain of Harrogate Cricket Club.

From surviving relegation to building a young squad, Will Bates has seen a lot in his short time as Harrogate Cricket Club captain.

The 32-year-old captained two sides prior to joining the St George's Road club.

However, his time at Harrogate has proved pivotal in the two years since taking up the position.

As he sits in the beaming sunshine next to the home pitch, Will reflects on a whirlwind period as Harrogate’s first XI captain.

Formative years in Letchworth


Growing up in Hertfordshire, Will played an array of sports including football, cricket and tennis.

But it was the bat and ball which stuck in the end.

He started playing for Harpenden Cricket Club, before going onto the adults game.

“I played all sports really. Football, cricket and tennis were my main sports.
“But cricket was the one I stuck with the most and enjoyed the most.”


Will started out as both a batsmen and off-spin bowler. However, nowadays, he says he’s more of an occasional bowler and only bowls “if required”.

He describes himself as a “classical batsman”, a contrast to some of his younger teammates who prefer the aggressive technique exemplified by Brendan McCullum’s England side.

Much of his adult career was spent at Letchworth Garden City Cricket Club.

Will describes the seven years at Letchworth as some of his formative years as a cricketer.

“As a club, it was quite formative in terms of my ethos on cricket.
“A few weeks ago they put out a first team and they had an overseas player and they had 10 other players between the ages of 18 and 40. Every single one of them had only ever played for one cricket club and come through the youth system. None of them were getting paid.
“I loved my time playing cricket at Letchworth and that’s the kind of cricket club I want to be a part of up here.”


Captaining Harrogate


Much of the ethos that Will saw at Letchworth has carried over into his time in North Yorkshire.

He moved to Harrogate five years ago to take up a job as a solicitor in the disputes department at LCF Law.

He took on the captaincy two years ago and grasped the opportunity.

“I thought there was a lot that we could do to improve things and we had a lot of young players. I was quite excited."




Despite his excitement, Will was thrust straight into a season where Harrogate found themselves in a relegation battle.

The club stayed up on the last day after beating York. Will scored 90 in a captain’s innings to help see Harrogate over the line.

While the stress of avoiding relegation would be enough for some players to put behind them, Will sees it as one of his best games.

“We needed to win to stay up and York are traditionally our big rivals.
“I got 90 not out in that game when we were chasing about 230. In terms of satisfaction and pressure situation, that would be the one that I pick out.”




Among the club's other achievements in his time include winning the Addison Cup in 2021.

Harrogate eased to victory over Wetherby Carr Manor after scoring 131 for 7 and bowling the opposition out for 99.

Will won man of the match after scoring 59 in his innings.

Building a culture


Since surviving relegation, Will has sought to help the club in its ambition to improve.

One of the aspects of that is bringing young players through and giving them opportunities in the first team.

Will points to wicketkeeper Isaac Light as an example of one of the young players that he and the club are trying to bring through.

He also wants to build a culture at Harrogate which is “close nit” and where players feel invested in the side.




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For Will, this is an example of the setup he says he wants to be a part of - as he had at Letchworth.

The decision the club made over paying players exemplifies that, he says.

“Some teams we play against probably pay most players.
“But we made a conscious decision where we only pay an overseas player. Nearly every team in the division has an overseas player. Then we have one club professional who is Matt Pillans, who used to play at Yorkshire.
“The justification for both those expenses is the benefit the whole club gets from training with them and playing with them.
“They’re not just paid to play cricket and for us to win. We made a conscious decision that we didn’t want a first team where everyone is a paid cricketer.
“We are now seeing the benefit of that policy.”


While Will wants to grow Harrogate beyond what it is, does he have any ambitions?

“To get Harrogate’s first team to reach its potential.
“Although we made progress last year, we did slightly underachieve. It’s hard to say what that is because at the end of the season you know if you have won the right number of games or not.
“But I’d certainly see at as being a top four finish in the league, it could even be better than that with the team that we have got at the moment.”


For Will, he feels he has found his place in Harrogate.

As the club sits third in the league and prepares for another showdown with York this weekend, the team appears to be on an upward trajectory.

Does Will think he’ll still be in Harrogate at the end of his career?

“I can’t see myself playing for anyone else. I probably do feel quite at home here.”






This is the third article in a series of Sporting Spotlight interviews. If you have any local sporting heroes who you think should be featured, contact calvin@thestrayferret.co.uk.