Oughtibridge’s first-team captain Will Cooper – a former county junior – says survival in this summer’s YPL South Championship division would give the club a real platform for future progression.
Cooper’s side gained promotion by finishing second in the third-tier Division One competition behind Tickhill’s second team last summer, winning 14 of their 22 matches.
Oughtibridge Cricket Club is located in Sheffield, five minutes from Sheffield Wednesday FC’s Hillsborough Stadium.
“It’s a tiny little village, and our ground is tucked away in a little cul-de-sac,” said Cooper. “It’s a lovely ground with a backdrop of forestry – a really nice place to play cricket.
“Our groundsman, Roger Fairhurst, produces some of the best wickets I’ve ever played on, and I’ve been playing at senior level for 20 years now. They are some of the best in the league. We’re very lucky in that sense.”
Cooper, aged 32, was a Yorkshire junior and a contemporary of the likes of Alex Lees and Jonny Tattersall.
Picture courtesy of Oughtibridge CC. Captain Will Cooper with bat in hand. Cooper was a former YCCC junior.
He joined the club three years ago and has been delighted with its progress since then. They are a club in the midst of a city with a rich cricketing tradition. Sheffield was Yorkshire’s birth city, after all, and the home to two of the county’s most famous sons, batting legends Joe Root and Michael Vaughan.
The likes of Sheffield Collegiate, Hallam and Whitley are all bigger clubs, with Cooper admitting: “That’s why we’re really trying to develop our junior section, because that’s why these clubs are so successful. They have great junior set-ups.
“If we’re honest, ours hasn’t always been that way. So it’s something we’ve been really concentrating on in that last year or two. Last year, we saw a real step forwards in that.
“We saw a real turnaround in fortunes last year on and off the field. It was a fantastic year.”
Middle order batter Cooper continued: “A lot of those clubs around us often take our juniors. If they want to go and play at a club which is more established, those are the kind of clubs they’d choose.
“But we’re keeping hold of them now, which is great to see.
Picture courtesy of Oughtibridge CC. Oughtibridge’s War Memorial Sports Ground.
“They have a stepping stone into senior cricket, which is great.”
Last year’s promotion will no doubt act as an inspiration to the club’s juniors, as would survival in the Championship in 2025.
“We have a lot of juniors and families come down at the weekend, which is great,” said Cooper. “And what they see is a really attacking brand of cricket.
“It’s kind of in line with the way England play in many ways.
“Our opener, Naveed Arif, scored nearly 800 runs in the league, and he got them quickly.
“That’s kind of the message I put out to the team. ‘If we’re going to go for something, we’re going to go hard’. That’s not just batting, that’s bowling and fielding. It seemed to work last year, so we’ll maintain that approach this year.”
Picture courtesy of Oughtibridge CC. Captain Will Cooper, centre bottom row, with his first-team promotion-winning colleagues last summer.
That aggression will be mixed with pragmatism, however, accepts Cooper, who says the club’s decision to not employ a professional this year is a “sensible” one.
“It’s going to be a bit of a ‘by the skin of our teeth mentality’,” he said of their survival bid. “There are some big sides in our league. Elsecar are a big club, Treeton, Ackworth are massively on the rise.
“It might not be like last year where we were going out there to win every game. We might be going out there to get some bonus points. Start there and then try to win games if we can.
“It’s the highest level our club’s ever been at.
“We’ve been at this level once before and came down quite quickly. The plan is now to stay there and settle ourselves in that league.
“We want a platform for the coming years.
Picture courtesy of Oughtibridge CC. Jane Goodwin, the Sheffield club’s women and girls hardball captain.
“We’ve made the decision not to have a pro this year, and it’s a sensible decision.
“We’re choosing to invest in the club in different places, be it the junior section, facilities at the ground, etc.
“But it does mean that competing in this league will be even harder.
“It will be tough, but I’m confident. We’ve made some good signings, costing us no money.
“We don’t pay any of our players, and that’s vital for me. We don’t want a set-up where we’re just paying players.
“We have some really talented cricketers who could go to a lot of clubs in our area, and I’m sure would be well looked after if you like. But they stay loyal, which I’m very proud of. It says a lot about what we’re doing as a club.”
Picture courtesy of Oughtibridge CC. Liz Harris, Oughtibridge’s women and girls softball skipper.
Not only does Oughtibridge have a successful senior set-up – they are introducing a third team for 2025 – they also have an emerging junior section and a thriving women’s set-up too.
Cooper said: “When I joined the club three years ago, there was a real issue with our junior section. We now have three junior sides compared to one back then.
“What we also have is a booming Dynamos and All Stars programme on a Friday evening. We can almost get 200 children down – all from the village and local schools.
“We have a really committed bunch of coaches. One of them works for Yorkshire Cricket Board, Sharon Butcher. She’s excellent. Without those volunteers, like a lot of clubs, we wouldn’t be able to function.
“We also have a really thriving women’s section, and I believe we’re going to have three teams this year. I think the plan is for us to have one hardball team and two softball teams.
“Liz Harris and Jane Goodwin, who are our captains, do a fantastic job in promoting women’s and girls cricket.
Picture courtesy of Oughtibridge CC. Groundsman Roger Fairhurst is inducted into the South Yorkshire League Hall of Fame last year. Here he is with former Yorkshire and England fast bowler Matthew Hoggard.
“In the past, at other clubs, I’ve seen a bit of a divide between the men’s and the women’s teams. But that’s something we just don’t have here.
“At all of our functions, and after matches, we’ll see that blend of men and women at our club, which is something we’re really proud of. We’ve got an all-welcoming policy at our club for anyone who wants to get involved.
“It’s a really good set-up, and I would encourage anyone to get involved.”
Cooper’s own cricketing journey started at Wickersley and includes stops along the way at Rotherham Town, Wath and Treeton. His partner hails from Hillsborough, which is what brought him to Oughtibridge: “It’s probably the best decision I ever made. I love it here,” he said.
He was an opening bowler in his Yorkshire days but converted into a middle order batter following a serious shoulder injury.
As a former Yorkshire junior and a league captain – albeit not at Premier League level – it was interesting to get Cooper’s thoughts on Yorkshire’s new analytical scouting mission across the five Premier Leagues within the county.
Picture courtesy of Oughtibridge CC. One of the pitches Roger Fairhurst produces.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he added.
“When I used to be in the Yorkshire League, you’d play against the Yorkshire Academy, and you’d be able to match yourself up against the up and coming talent the county had. That was really enjoyable.
“It’s not only the youngsters coming through, but there are players who drop out of the system, a bit like myself, and it shouldn’t be the end of your story.
“If this gives some players a way back in, then fantastic.
“I played with Ben Sanderson at Rotherham Town. He thought his journey in county cricket was over back then, after leaving Yorkshire. But it wasn’t.
“He’s gone on to play for Northamptonshire and take hundreds of wickets. He’s a fantastically skilled bowler. It just shows that it can be done. I certainly think it’s something the county should look at because there’s a lot of talent in league cricket.”
Picture courtesy of Oughtibridge CC. Destructive opener Naveed Arif will be key to Oughtibridge’s hopes of survival in this season YPLN Championship division.
