Nat Samuels

June 3, 2021

Nat Samuels has been the County women’s captain for many years and plays cricket for Woolpit CC. She is a top order batter with great power and finesse to her shots and is a strong, dependable fielder for all teams she represents.

Read on to find out more about her own cricket, her favourite things about the sport, and her opinions on how far the women’s game has come during her time at Suffolk.

How many years have you been playing cricket?

I’ve played club cricket since I was 12, started at Battisford then moved to Woolpit in 2013. I’ve played county for I think around 13 years, with a bit of a gap whilst I was at university.

How did you get into cricket?

I don’t remember one deciding factor that got me into cricket, but remember playing every sport I could find when I was younger and cricket just stuck!

What is your most notable cricketing achievement?

I would say playing against some of the England players whilst I was at university but we got absolutely thrashed, so I’d have to go for county hundred against Cambs.

What is your favourite ground that you have played at and why?

Woolpit, because it seems to have its own weather system where it hardly ever rains, and the pitches are usually a dream to bat on.

What is the funniest thing you have seen on a cricket field?

Last year one of the team went to retrieve a ball from the other side of the nets that’d been smashed for four, which they did successfully, but then disappeared suddenly on the way back as she fell into the ditch that runs along the Woolpit boundary.

What is your go to shot when batting?

I mean, anyone who’s played against me before always seems to send fielders out to cow as soon as I come in, but I’m not sure why.

What is your favourite thing about cricket?

The people I’ve played with. It sounds so cheesy, but there’s no other sport where you spend such a long time with people and it really brings out the sense of being a part of a team.

What is the best cricket tea item?

I love everything in a cricket tea (except cucumber), but it depends whether we bowled first or not because if I have to go out and bat I can’t move for the first 10 overs if I’ve overindulged at tea. If we’re fielding I can put myself at fine leg and stand quietly for a while.

If you had to commentate on one moment in cricket history, what would you choose?

I’ve watched the moment where Ben Stokes hits a four to win the game against Australia at Headingley in 2019 so many times that I think that’d have to be my favourite moment, but I don’t know that I could commentate on it because I’m still too on edge watching it!

What do you make of the progress made in women’s cricket over the past 10 years?

I think women’s cricket has seen massive progress over the last ten years. When I started playing county there was no age group system for the girls in Suffolk, and so it’s brilliant to have seen such investment of time and money into the programme. The girls coming up through into the ladies side have so much talent, and have had so much more exposure to match conditions that the transition from U18’s to ladies is barely noticeable for them.

Where do you think women’s cricket could grow further in the next 10 years?

I’d like to see more female coaches, both at club and county level. We’ve got some fantastic male coaches and they’re doing an excellent job, but I think especially for the younger age groups it’s really good for them to have a female coach who they can look up to. I also think that the counties who’ve continued to fund their ladies programmes despite the ECB funding cuts should continue to do so, as there’s a real desire to play a high standard of cricket.

For more information on the County women’s setup, go to the Suffolk website or to follow Nat’s or the County’s seasons go to either the Suffolk or Woolpit Play-Cricket pages.

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