Jonny be good!
Jonny Tattersall’s career path has been quite remarkable, a journey which has taken the former England Under 19 down some unexpected roads – be it turning into a wicketkeeper from not far off scratch to being appointed club captain having been in the second team only a couple of months earlier.
They are just two examples, with another being that he was released by Yorkshire only to be handed a second chance – one which he grabbed with both hands.
Tattersall was released in 2015 having made only one first-team appearance two years earlier. In 2017, he was handed a second chance having impressed in league cricket and in the county’s second team.
Since then, the 30-year-old has proved a highly valuable asset, not least because of his versatility.
Nine years after being released, he captained Yorkshire during the second half of the 2024 summer, leading them to promotion in the Rothesay County Championship. Added to some good work behind the stumps, he hit two brilliant middle order centuries in away wins over Derbyshire and Leicestershire.
More of that in a bit!
Ahead of 2018, the coaching staff opted to turn him into a keeper, something he had only done a little bit of as a junior. It proved a masterstroke as, from midway through 2018 to early 2021, he was the county’s number one gloveman when Jonny Bairstow was with England.
Harry Duke then replaced him until midway through 2022 when the Knaresborough product regained his place. He scored a maiden Championship century in his first game back, a superb 180 not out in defeat against Surrey at Scarborough.
Then, when Steve Patterson resigned as captain in July 2022, he was handed the reins by Ottis Gibson. Tattersall again captained Yorkshire during an injury-disrupted 2023, deputising for Shan Masood. He ended the season in style with a match-clinching 44 not out in a win over Worcestershire at Headingley.
It was the same in 2024. Masood missed eight matches through injury and international commitments. Tattersall stepped in expertly.
And with the bat, he hit 107 in the innings win over Derbyshire at Chesterfield at the start of July. In mid-September, he also hit a stunning 126 against Leicestershire at Grace Road – another innings win. That was up there as one of Yorkshire’s best innings of the summer considering a tricky pitch on which the hosts fell to 15-7 on day one.
Hitting 643 runs and taking 29 victims behind the stumps, promoted Tattersall described 2024 as his favourite summer.
Tattersall had previously captained Yorkshire at Under 17s, Academy and Second XI level as well as England Under 19s.
UPDATED: Feb 2025.
