Southwell Cricket Club's new captain David Bates details 2022-23 hopes after promotion-winning season

Southwell Cricket Club are gearing up for the start of their campaign this season with excitement after promotion, says new captain David Bates, writes Will Hugall.

Fresh from grabbing the final spot to take them up from the South Nottinghamshire Cricket League Division D last season, the team are looking to make an impression at their new level, starting with a fixture at home against East Bridgford this Saturday.

“I’m excited for it, of course. I’m unsure of what it will bring”, said Bates.

“We got promoted last year, so we’re aiming to build on that. Of course, it’s more of a challenge but we’ll look to stabilise ourselves.”

Bates takes over the captaincy of the side this season after previous first-team skipper Tom Clarke stepped down in April.

It’s a task the all-rounder and former vice-captain is relishing, too.

“I look forward to working with the more experienced players in the dressing room. I’ll be relying on them.”

“We’ve got 11 good cricket heads in the team, so I don’t have to tell them what to do too much.”

Southwell clinched promotion last season after finishing 5th in Division D, and will be heading up to Division C alongside Newark Ransome and Marles Cricket Club.

With half of the new Division C composed of fellow promoted clubs and the other half of relatively unknown opponents, there will plenty of interesting storylines.

“The first few games will give us a sense of where we stand in the league”, Bates said.

“There’s a local edge as well – the first couple of games are against sides we played last season.”

Re-engaging in rivalries with East Bridgford, Newark Ransome and Marles and Young Lions will be the first tasks for the Brackenhurst-based side, while a trip to Radcliffe-on-Trent will follow before the end of May.

Division C is set to be a closely-fought league and any advantages the newly-promoted sides can get could well be key.

With their base in immediate proximity to Nottingham Trent University’s Brackenhurst campus, Southwell are fortunate to typically have a new influx of players every season.

Bates said: “We have a couple of new players, and a couple of older heads as well.”

Those announced earlier in the year include all-rounder Tom Glenn, a batsman who moved to the area after representing Laughton CC in East Sussex, and former Zimbabwe under-19 seam bowler Elvis Sembezeya.

Bates said that Glenn “will be a good addition”, while Sembezeya would “definitely be one of the quicker bowlers and is another exciting prospect.”

Overall, Southwell will be hopeful that they can exceed expectations as the last of the promoted sides and adapt to the new level well.

Bates said: “We’ll do as well as we can. It’s difficult to tell at this stage where we’ll be.”

The action begins for the side as they welcome East Bridgford at Top Ground this Saturday, with the first ball to be bowled at 1pm.