Hatherley and Reddings’ thriving youth section is the key to the club’s current and future well-being.

That’s the firm belief of club chairman Ian Coote as the flagship men’s team prepare to host Chippenham in Premier 2 Glos/Wilts of the West of England Premier League on Saturday.

Hatherley finished sixth in the 10-strong division last time out but for a good part of 2023 Tom Hage’s side were in and around the leaders.

All-rounder Hage is one of many who have come through the club's youth set-up and Coote said: “It shows the benefit of bringing through your own players.

“It’s not easy. There’s quite a lot of money about at the level we play and we’re not the biggest payers.

“If these players – Tom, Henry Driver-Dickerson, Joseph Tutty, Joel Price, Max Kelly, Sam Dent – weren’t coming through it would be much tougher to compete.

“And there are others who will be pressing for places this season.

“We’re an excellent club for giving youth a chance, we will always give them an opportunity to play quality cricket.”

And the aforementioned youngsters were a key part of the Hatherley Hurricanes side that won the inaugural Cheltenham Premier T20 last season.

“It was a good tournament to win and we were delighted to win it,” said Coote, who is 66. “There were some good clubs in the competition – Cheltenham, Dumbleton.”

Hatherley beat Dumbleton in the final and the two clubs will lock horns in Premier 2 Glos/Wilts in 2024 after Dumbleton’s promotion from the Gloucestershire Division.

The men’s flagship team will obviously be the main focus for a good number of the club's supporters, but Coote, who is originally from East London, is keen to champion the whole club.

“We’ll be running four Saturday adult teams,” he said. “We’ve obviously got our junior set-up and the women’s and girls’ section is really growing strongly.

“They play to a very, very good standard. Alice Hill is our captain and she’s also Gloucestershire’s captain.”

Coote, who umpires in the County League, is hoping all of Hatherley’s teams enjoy success this season, of course, but he also has another wish.

“I just want to see some cricket,” he said. “We lost a lot of cricket last season to the weather and we’ve had a wet winter and spring. I’m just hoping for some sun!”