Michael Blatherwick - keep trying and smiling

B3 Cricket | March 10, 2023

Michael Blatherwick is the Managing Director of B3 Cricket.

 

B3 Cricket 

At B3 Cricket, we specialise in providing you, your perfect cricket bat. Unique in our industry, we seamlessly mix tradition with advanced technology in our own factory in Nottingham, England. Each bat is made to order, and made to the exacting specification of you, the customer.

Michael is not only a cricket tragic he also carved out a significant career on the field.

Let’s find out more about Michael journey in the game

 

What year you were born and where?

1966 in Nottingham, England.

Can you remember you first game of cricket?

Primary School sport was very prominent in the 1970’s and I represented the school at football, in the winter, and cricket in the summer. My first senior game was at the age of 11 for Lenton United CC 3rd X1 - I scored a few runs batting in the lower order and I was hooked from that point.

Tell us briefly about your cricketing journey?

A life of cricket was inevitable as my Dad, Terry, was an avid amateur cricketer, playing in the top leagues in Nottingham all of his life.

I am also the eldest of four brothers and we were constantly playing backyard cricket at home and in the nets when we went to games with Dad on a Saturday and Sunday in the summer. Our brotherly competitive spirits and repetition mimicking our heroes, developed our skills.

 

Youngest brother Steven, Michael, Dad, Ian and Paul. Played in the same side at Kimberley.

When I was 12 Dad went to play for Gedling Colliery CC. This was in the late seventies and coal mining was a major industry still. A lot of large employers had sports and social facilities that would be the envy of many a club these days. The grounds and wickets were superb.

Anyway, I started playing for the second team and did well. The captain, Bob Gotheridge, knew how to help and encourage young players. That’s something that’s stuck with me, it’s important to make sure young players get a chance to shine, but also make sure they have the best chance of success.

For example, bring a young bowler on when there’s two fresh players at the crease and not when their gun batter is smashing it to all parts. Build their experience and confidence and then they can take on more responsibility and grow as a player.

I was playing for my County (Nottinghamshire) age group sides and doing well. At 14, I was picked for Gedling first team and played alongside my old man, every cricketing Dads dream and something I went onto to replicate with my own son, Daniel a few years ago.

From around 17, I started to get noticed in local league cricket and I was asked to play for the Notts Second X1 against a strong Yorkshire side at Trent Bridge. They got 404 in their first innings, and we were all out twice, losing the game by an innings and 6 runs.

I made a duck in the first dig and 3 in the second. I didn’t get asked back until I was 22!

I wanted to be a professional cricketer but missed out on getting taken on at 17. At that time (early 80’s) Notts would take on a couple of school leavers every year and I didn’t make the cut. I was still ambitious and was encouraged to move to the Notts Alliance League which was a slightly better standard. I joined Players CC, the sports section of Players, the big cigarette manufacturing company, who were a huge employer in Nottingham at that time. The ground was literally like a first-class ground, sadly many of these facilities don’t exist anymore or are a shadow of their former glory.

I played for the County age group sides from 13 to 17 and did ok but there were better players who developed younger so you end up being the ‘wrapping around the parcel’, as my old man would say. I developed a lot between 18 and 21, gaining strength and confidence.

I finished college and started Uni but very soon decided I didn’t want to be a Quantity Surveyor. The decision to quit Uni was made easier when I was asked if I would like to go and play cricket in Australia. I played for Lara Sporting Club in 1985/86 for in the Geelong District competition.

I was an allrounder and opened the bowling and batted four. I did ok but looking back I was still young and impulsive; I wish I’d returned to Oz in my mid-twenties when I was much more cricket savvy. At 19, I was quite impetuous as a player and thought I could hit every ball for a boundary. Later in my career I learned to play the game smarter.  

That trip was the start of a love affair with Australia and the start of some lifelong friendships. I nearly emigrated but a large close-knit family prevented me from taking the plunge.   

When I got back from Oz, I was asked to join Kimberley Institute CC, one of the most successful clubs in the last 4 decades in Nottinghamshire amateur cricket. I had performed well against them the previous season when I played for Players and the chance to play for them was something I couldn’t pass up.

Anyone reading this will now be thinking ‘this bloke has had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus’, and rightly so! I’m pleased to say that I spent the next 30 years at Kimberley and played for the first team until I was 46. As well as a player and 4 or 5 stints as captain, I also got involved in the Committee to make sure it prospered. My particular fortes were fund raising and coaching. I ran a winter coaching academy for the best youngsters for many years and even climbed Kilimanjaro to raise money towards new artificial nets.

 

Climbing Killi in 2014 was a fantastic experience and raised money for the club

I represented the League which brough together the best players from all the clubs. That was brilliant because competing against someone is very different to being on the same team…. those team trips all around the country were special days.

At almost 56 and I’m still turning out for the Nottinghamshire 50 Plus side and will keep doing so as long as the body allows, and I still get selected. Whilst the cricket isn’t what it was, the camaraderie and love of the game never fades.

 

Michael (far left) with my Notts 50 Plus teammates.

 

At what age did you make your senior cricket debut in grade cricket and can you remember how you performed in debut?

I was just 14 in 1980 when I made my first team debut for Gedling Colliery CC against arche rivals Bulwell CC in the old Notts Amateur League.

They had an infamous left arm quick, Mick Overend. I hooked him for 6 and he came down the wicket and shook my hand. The next ball was a quicker in-swinging yorker which sent my middle stump cartwheeling!

 

Gedling Colliery CC in about 1983. Dad front right with Michael next to him in the floppy hat.

If you can share with our audience, how would you describe yourself as a cricketer?

In my early years I was a medium fast seamer and top order batsman. I opened both the batting and bowling for my club, Kimberley Institute CC, for several years in my early twenties but then settled into batting at four. I always liked to try and dominate with the bat and often scored some lovely looking twenties, but all too often gave it away. Bowling wise I had decent pace, but my main strength was the ability to seam and swing the ball. I had a ‘good wrist’ apparently!

It was only when I had to give up bowling due to injury at 28 that I started to concentrate and think more about my batting. I had some coaching with the ex-Notts manager, John Birch, and I learned to value my wicket and started to understand that batting is often more about the mind than just plain ability or technique.

In my late twenties and thirties my batting got better, and I managed to stay fit enough and keen enough to play Premier League cricket until I was in my mid-forties.

What were your strengths as a player?

I like to think I was a tough competitor, and a good leader when I captained. I hated losing, especially if I thought we were the better team, it would take me until at least Wednesday to get over a loss!

I loved a battle on the pitch but never took it too far. I would always shake hands and make an effort to share a beer with the opposition afterwards. The ‘Spirit of Cricket’ is important to me.

What was your highest score in senior cricket?

My highest score was 151 for the East Midlands Forty Club against the West Midlands in 2007 but I don’t count that, it wasn’t league cricket.

In the league I scored a lot of fifties and about 7 tons in league cricket. Batting at four in 50 over cricket you don’t always get the time to go big. The best was 120 odd for Kimberley against Notts Unity Casuals in 1988. It was just one of those days where everything flew off the middle.

What were your best bowling figures in senior cricket?

I had a few 7 fers. I remember getting 7-28 against Papplewick and Linby CC in the Jack Elliott Trophy. I was near the end of my bowling days due to an elbow injury, and I was bowling at 80% of my normal pace but it was one of those days where everything found the edge or beat the bat.

Who were the best three fast bowlers you have played against?

Mick Overend - Just a legend of the local Nottingham leagues when I was growing up. A Wasim Akram type left armer who could swing it both ways at will.

Lyndon Joseph -The fastest I’ve faced. Was apparently destined for massive things in the West Indies but got on the wrong side of the people at the top and ended up playing club cricket in Nottingham for the West Indian Cavaliers CC.

Devon Malcolm - He played in South Yorkshire when he first came to the UK. He bowled rockets on an absolute concrete wicket. It was mid-eighties and we only had one helmet between us. He knocked my floppy white Panama clean off my head. I soon shouted for the team lid!

Devon Malcolm

Who were the best three spinners you have played against? 

Colin Taylor - There weren’t many leggie’s around in the UK when we grew up. The first time I came across this bloke he totally bamboozled me. He bowled accurate leg spin and had a superb googly. He’s now sixty something and still playing local cricket.

Eddie Hemmings - When he retired from first class cricket, the Notts and England off break bowler played in the local leagues. His flight and guile were a different level. I managed to score a hundred against him in a cup match in 1996….you always remember runs against the top players don’t you.

Josh Mangan (played with, not against, but deserves a mention) - Mango was a young Aussie leg spinner who came to play for Kimberley in 2008. He had been nurtured through the Victorian pathway and coached by the likes of Terry Jenner and Shane Warne. He was an unbelievable talent with both bat and ball and a superb teammate. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury denied him the professional career he deserved.

 

Michael, Mango and Richard Adams in the Kimberley clubrooms in 2008.

 

Who were the best 3 batsman you’ve played against?

Stuart Law - As a young overseas, he played for Littleborough in the Lancashire League. We got to the quarter final of the National Cup and you could tell he was class and destined for a great career.

Paul Johnson - Johnno scored over 30000 runs for Nottinghamshire. He’s the type of player that would have been an absolute superstar in today’s white ball formats. A great stroke maker!

John Truman - My nemesis as a bowler in the Nineties. The Kimberley v Sandiacre game was always my favourite fixture and if we didn’t get JT early, he would always ton up!

Paul Johnson 

Who played the best innings you’ve seen firsthand playing with or against?

I’ve witnessed loads of great knocks, and often it’s not the number of runs, it’s the context of the innings.

In 1997 we were playing the last round of league games and we were top of the league, just 2 points ahead of our archrivals, Sandiacre. They had a relatively easy last game, but we had to go to Radcliffe on Trent. A tough track to bat on, made more difficult by the fact their overseas player for that season was Barrington Browne who was in and around the West Indies ODI squad at the time.

It was mid-September and conditions were Autumnal and the pitch was green. We won the toss and contained them to just 176/6 (sorry, 6 for 176) and we went into our innings with the league title in our hands.

Our innings started well but then in poor light, and with Barrington getting a head of steam, we lost 4 quick wickets.

Around this collapse, Sandiacre (who had brushed aside their opposition to gain maximum points) turned up and were very cock sure, thinking we’d blown it. 

Enter Neil Fenwick and Brett Scothern in our middle order. They went into a different zone and made a fantastic 100 run partnership in the toughest of conditions against some great bowling. Brett finished on 52 not out and Fenners 55 not out. They pulled, hooked and cut the Windies superstar to all parts!

In the context of the game, what it meant, the quality of the bowling and the challenging conditions – those two share my best innings award. Happy memories!

Who was the best wicket keeper you’ve seen firsthand playing with or against?

Quite a few including Martin Clarke and Carl Widdowson who I played with at Kimberley were brilliant but the best I witnessed was Charlie French, elder brother of England legend and current keeping coach, Bruce French.

Who are the two players you admired most in terms of skills and competitive spirit in the competitions you played?

Again, numerous but special mention to Neil Fenwick and Andre Adams. Fenner’s was a brilliant all rounder and should have played professional cricket in my opinion. Hard and fair summed him up.

Andre came to be our overseas pro at Kimberley in 2000 and 2001. He was a superb allrounder and played the game with a brilliant mentality. Cool as a cucumber but no ground given. He went onto play for New Zealand, Essex and became a legend at Nottinghamshire.

 

Andre Adams and Michael after they won the Notts Premier League in 2000.

Who was the best captain you had the good fortune to play with?

David Coote captained Southwell CC in the 80’s and 90’s. He also captained the league representative team and that’s where he skippered me. His catch phrase was ‘get yer mind right!’ He showed me how focus and adrenalin could enhance performance if you get the balance right for the individual. He showed me that different individuals respond to different things. I suppose Cootey was the person who started my interest in sports psychology.

 

The league representative side in 1987 at Edgbaston in the Midlands Conference Cup Final. Michael, front right. Captain, David Coote, front middle.

Who has been your funniest team mate?

Brett Scothern, my teammate at Kimberley was a classic. Every time he played a bad shot, he would smack his pads and shout, ‘ooh ya baxxxrd’, as he berated himself. He had the scruffiest kit bag ever and I don’t think he washed his whites from one season to the next. When my eyesight started to go and I was in a particularly bad run of form, he gaffer taped a set of binoculars into the grill of my helmet. He once made up a ‘bomb scare’ for being late to a game and was a compete liability on any team night out. As they say, you had to be there!

Can you recall some banter or an exchange on the cricket field that still makes you laugh today?

I was fielding at extra cover and the oppositions opening bat was Shane Pigeon.

He smashed a half volley straight to me and I ran away celebrating and singing ‘catch the pigeon, catch the pigeon’.

Only funny if you are old enough to remember the Dick Dastardly and Muttley cartoons! ??

Who was your childhood hero?

Ian Botham. In 1981 I was on a school geography trip in Wales. I managed to sneak off to the TV room at Aberystwyth Uni and watch him score that magnificent 149 and Willis take his 8 wickets to win the infamous Headingley Test.

Ian Botham

Who are the three sports people in the world you’d most like to meet?

I’ve met Botham, Sir Garfield Sobers and Brian Clough so I’ll bypass those legends. If we can include those who have passed away, I would say…Bobby Moore, Muhammed Ali and Seve Ballesteros.

Who’s your favourite cricket commentator?

Richie Benaud – just brilliant.

What was your favourite ground to play at?

Trent Bridge.

What’s been your most memorable moment in cricket?

In 1994 Kimberley won the League on the Saturday, the League Cup on the Sunday and the Derbyshire Cup on the Monday which was a public holiday. Monday night was a big night!

 

Michael and his brother, Paul, had this photo in the local paper in 1994 after that epic weekend!

Another memorable moment was managing to fulfill the ambition of playing with my son, Daniel. He was 13 and I was 48 and we played in the Kimberley 2ND X1 together in 2014.

Michael and Daniel

Who are the three players from your playing days at the top of the list for a Saturday afternoon barbeque?

Too many to mention, it would be a big barbie. My memory for games gone by is shocking but my old Kimberley team mates Mac and Clarkey would have to be there because they can remember every ball and funny story from the last 40 years. Priceless!

You’re the Managing Director of B3 Cricket – can you tell us a little bit about the business?

I’ve worked in the business IT industry all my life and sold a business in 2011. My close friend Russ Evans worked at Gunn and Moore for more than 20 years. He approached me in 2012 to see if I would be interested in helping him launch B3 Cricket and explained the USP’s.

Russ knew I was a cricket badger and wouldn’t be able to resist! The concept was unique; the advanced manufacturing process allows us to give amateur players the same choice and quality as a top pro cricketer. There’s loads of stuff on our website and You Tube channel which shows how we do this, if anyone is interested. Just search B3 Cricket.

We can make a bat from the finest hand-picked English willow to a player’s exact specification and ship it anywhere in the world within a couple of weeks.

In 2014, Russ became a first-class umpire and was living his dream running B3 and umpiring around the UK. Tragically, in 2017, Russ died suddenly after developing problems while undergoing a routine medical procedure.

I like to think we have done Russ proud. I think we are one of the best in the business in terms of choice, quality of products and after sales service. Everyone at B3 is cricket mad, we live and breathe it and hopefully that comes through in what we do.

Russell Evans

What are your hobbies?

Cricket aside I enjoy socialising with friends and family. Not very good at golf but enjoy it and I regularly go fishing. We live in a semi-rural part of Nottinghamshire, on the edge of Sherwood Forest, so there’s always a great dog walk on my doorstep.

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

Keep trying and smiling!

If you were running a County Cricket Association what would your 2 priorities to ensure cricket in the state remained strong and successful on and off the field?

In England we are compromising the red ball game too much in favour of shorter formats. As a businessman, I appreciate the financial and participation benefits of shorter, less complexed formats but as a cricket lover – we need to preserve red ball cricket and skill sets. We need to think more about the sport and not just the dollars!