Picture by Ray Spencer. Richmondshire captain Rob Carr lifts the 2024 YPL champions trophy at Castleford last September.
Richmondshire’s title-winning captain Rob Carr believes Yorkshire’s scouting mission across the county’s five Premier Leagues this summer is “a great move”.
Richmondshire are currently the best Premier League side in the county having won last season’s YPL play-off final, beating New Farnley in the final at Castleford.
That came after they won the North Yorkshire South Durham title, successes they are confident of repeating in 2025.
Yorkshire’s hierarchy will have a keen eye on that bid, as they will performances right across the county having announced in the winter their intentions to unearth some previously untapped talent playing in the leagues.
The county’s lead performance analyst, Harrison Allen, will have an algorithm which monitors the NYSD League, the Bradford League, the Huddersfield League and the Yorkshire Premier Leagues North and South.
Players aged from 17-22 are being targeted as the club bid to deepen their first-team options in the coming seasons.
“I think it’s really interesting to see an obvious path for talent identification in club cricket,” said Carr, who is confident there is more than enough talent in league cricket to excite the county.
“We know that Yorkshire has probably the most and strongest Premier divisions around the country, compared to other counties with the size of it.
“So for Yorkshire to obviously recognise that now and use those leagues as an opportunity to identify some younger talent to try and give opportunities to is a great move.”
The league cricket summer begins across the next fortnight, with Richmondshire hosting Marston this coming Saturday at their Hurgill Road home.
“I think it’s a really good talent pool in Yorkshire,” continued Carr.
“Our league is definitely one of the stronger ones, and we’ve played quite extensively in the National Cups over the last few years as well, playing some really tough games against the Bradford League and the Yorkshire Premier League North sides.
“The Huddersfield League have just got Premier Division status as well.
“That pool is really good, and in the National Cups you tend to find that the teams you play around the North are your harder games.
“There are some really strong teams down South as well, but in the North, and particularly around Yorkshire, I think there’s a really good pool of talent in Premier Division cricket.”
Carr is a particularly interesting skipper to talk to because he works in the football trading departing for Sky Bet in Leeds. He has a keen eye for sporting data.
He said: “Yorkshire have obviously got the process in place for the right metrics of data to hit, and then talent will be identified as a result of that.
“Then, I really like the idea that they’ll send a scout out to see these players in a match scenario.
“It’s something that probably cricket is maybe 10-15 years further behind than football in this. My job is in football, and you can see the advantages that some of the clubs get who are very good on talent identification and recruitment.
“The likes of Brighton and Brentford, for example – 10-15 years ago, they were doing things that other clubs weren’t.
“I don’t know what the other counties are like in county cricket with identifying from Premier Division cricket, but it may well be that Yorkshire gain a little bit of an advantage in three to four years’ time if they get this right.
“It sounds like they’re very open in terms of numbers.
“You never know, you get two, three, four players from the Premier Leagues each season coming in, one or two of them who then actually make it and decide that they’re ready for second XI and maybe first XI cricket, it’ll be a huge advantage.
“If you’re producing your own players from your own county, and you’re not having to recruit from elsewhere, you’re in a much better place.”
Upon setting up this particularly interview, we sent Carr the club press release announcing this process and also general manager of cricket Gavin Hamilton’s Q&A feature, which explained what will happen in more detail.
Carr shared that with his Richmondshire team-mates.
“Yeah, we’ve sent it around the lads, and there’s a couple of the younger guys who fall into this age bracket who are definitely really excited by it,” he said.
“We’ve got one lad, Joe White, who’s been involved with Yorkshire, he’s been training with their under-18s. So he’s obviously already in that pathway.
“But a good example of somebody Yorkshire could be targeting is Caleb Bradford who played for us last year. He’s a left-arm spinner who has already been involved with Yorkshire at the younger age-groups.
“But, having dropped out, it can be tough.
“Yorkshire is the hardest pathway to get through, simply because there’s so many good, young players.
“It’s not uncommon for someone to go in at 15 or 16-years-old and then just not make it through to the Academy and the second team.
“For someone like Caleb, he’s at University in Leeds and knows that if he has a really good season in Premier Division cricket and somebody’s watching, there’s a chance he can have a route back in.”
Yorkshire are concentrating on a certain age-group, as aforementioned – 17-22-year-olds.
But, clearly, keeping a close eye on the leagues means that other players who are older or even successful overseas players may well come to their attention as well.
“Someone like Gary Pratt who’s 43 and with us might be ruled out of proceedings!” joked Carr.
“But it’s interesting with older players. And we have a bit of history with that at Richmondshire.
“Matthew McKiernan played for us in 2018. He was probably mid-twenties then, and he’d just had an unbelievable season before that and got picked up by Derbyshire.
“It’s never too late if you’re in that sort of age-bracket. You can still go and have a successful career. Someone like a Richard Gleeson is another example of that.
“On the overseas players, I know that’s a common problem for counties now, with guys back and forwards because of all the T20 leagues that they might play in.
“If Yorkshire know that there’s an overseas player in one of the leagues who could come in and do a job if needed – and there’s plenty of quality ones about – then that’s a big thing.
“We have a lad from Afghanistan, Shafiqullah Ghafari, as our pro. He’s a really, really talented spin bowling all-rounder who is currently going through an asylum process at the moment.
“He’d be having an eye on eventually trying to get himself a contract, and I’ve no doubt would be good enough. So, for Yorkshire to have a really good view of him is perfect.”
And Carr also believes, because of Yorkshire’s process, that the intensity of Premier League cricket within the county this season could be increased.
“There’s definitely an extra edge,” he said.
“You’re obviously team first. You’re competing to win each fixture for your team. But, if you know that you’re potentially being watched, then you’ve got that individual focus as well.”
And on Richmondshire’s chances of success in 2025, Carr was in understandably bullish mood.
He added: “Last year was one of our most successful with winning the league and then the Yorkshire White Rose Trophy final at the end.
“Touch wood, we’ve managed to keep the same squad together – Gary Pratt, Dan Hodgson, Shafiqullah Ghafari added to the strong pool of players we’ve had for a long period of time.
“I’ve no doubt that other teams in the NYSD have strengthened, but we’d be hopeful and confident that we can win the league again.
“The squad we have, the margin we won it by last year, they’re going to have to improve a lot and we’re going to have to get worse. So, yeah, confident.”
