Five minutes with….. Nathan Waterston

The leading run-maker in the Cumbria League this season, Nathan is a deep thinker about the game and proved an interesting subject on various cricketing matters.

I caught up with the 25-year-old this week before he helped Cumbria into the final of the NCCA Trophy for the third time in a row.

How did you start in cricket, when, and who influenced you in your early years?

I would say it’s all down to my family playing cricket in the back garden, watching my role models on TV every summer and probably just the love for the game I had so early in my life.

The main one there, though, is probably, my family who provided me with opportunities to play cricket. All the miles up and down the motorway to play games and train is something I still don’t take for granted today.

I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in the game for so long and the best part about it is that you can always get better and that’s something I thrive off.

It has allowed me to meet new people, make friends for life and opened up experiences that I only dreamed of as a kid. I’ve been lucky enough to play at Lord’s and without my early influences that would never have been possible.

You’ve also been a promising footballer, can you talk us through that career, the highlights?

My football career started at Carlisle United as a kid at the age of nine up until I was 15 which was a massive part of my life and I am still in contact with lads I met there and have become firm friends.

Some of the main highlights would have been playing for Workington Reds. Playing in front of the fans there was something I enjoyed so much. I will always remember the FA Trophy run, beating Hartlepool at home being one of the most special memories I have in football.

Another highlight would be coming out of university and signing a deal with Barrow to have the opportunity to play football under a full-time contract.

I was brought in under Andy Pennock and Grant Holt and they gave me an opportunity and backed me to come in and play, and I will always be grateful for what they did for me.

I guess the lowlights would have been those shoulder injuries which so disrupted your career at both Workington and Barrow. What happened?

The initial shoulder injury happened in my first full season at Barrow, unfortunately the day before the season started. The most frustrating aspect of that first right shoulder injury was that it happened in the gym rather than being any kind of game-related injury.

I had felt as though my pre-season was going very well and I was enjoying full-time football but doing some gym work I felt my shoulder tear during a pull-up.

The result of that was five months rehab after shoulder surgery where my cartilage was stitched using four anchors.

Unfortunately again that wasn’t the last of the injuries to the right shoulder as I landed awkwardly at Tadcaster playing for the Reds which resulted in a dislocation and damage to the repairs.

This again required surgery and I had to go through what they call a latarjet procedure which involves two screws, a bone graft and a new ligament to prevent my shoulder from dislocating.

After another six months rehab I thought I would never have further problems until the first pre-season cricket game. I had missed the football season and it came six months after my second surgery.

I felt my other shoulder tear and this meant that I had to play a full cricket season with another torn cartilage after finding out the results of the injury. This again required surgery back in November where I had a similar procedure to the first operation, resulting in five anchors this time to re-stitch the cartilage.

After five months I was back on the pitch in April after a very long winter of rehab and batting practice!

My shoulder injuries have definitely had a huge impact on my sport over the last three years but I can honestly say it is something that I’ve taken in my stride and not let any of the three operations affect my determination to succeed in what I do.

The hardest part is the mental side and the dedication needed to get in the gym every single day and do your rehab, especially when you have to re-train your throwing technique and basically learn to throw again.

Without the help of the surgeon and my physio Graham Dawson I simply wouldn’t have been able to enjoy what I love doing.

Cricket is now clearly your first sporting love. What are your aims in the game?

My aims are quite simple really. Everyone who knows me well knows how much I love batting. Not only that, but I love working hard to improve every time I train, play or move from season to season.

My aim is to walk away from the game in years to come knowing I gave it 100 per cent into being the best possible batsman I can be at the highest possible level I can go to.

My dream would be to play professional cricket. That’s the long term goal and whether I can get to that level is down to how hard I work and what I achieve at the level I play at now.

I’m very aware that there’s things I want to work on and improve going forward so I can try and take my game to another level and working with the right people over the winter I feel like this will make me a better player.

I think in cricket you have to be mentally strong as at times it’s a sport where you can potentially fail more often than you succeed and it’s how you deal with that mentality and that’s something I am still trying to improve on.

I believe that if you are consistent in this game it opens up opportunities so I’m looking forward to seeing what I can achieve.

Im a big believer of enjoying what you doing in the moment and right now all I need to concentrate on is working hard to improve and being the best batsman I can be for Furness and for Cumbria. The future will take care of itself.

You are having a splendid season, well over 900 runs in the Cumbria League. Is there anything specific that’s helped you in that – coaching, relaxation, more time for the game?

I think when you love doing something so much, you want to spend as much time as you can doing that.

I have definitely invested more of my time into the game with not playing football over the last couple of seasons. Despite the injuries and the setbacks its allowed me to give my full attention into my cricket and I definitely think it’s allowed me to have a clear focus on what I want to achieve from season to season.

I can now play a full season which in the past I was lucky if I played more than eight weeks with football commitments and ultimately it’s allowed me to spend more time in winter working on my game.

I try to look at every situation as positively as I can, so despite the injury to my left shoulder in the 2021 season and the way I had to adapt my batting and game to ensure that I was pain free essentially, has improved my game positively.

I was very restricted last year and it’s definitely taught me how to construct and build an innings by taking low risks in games and knocking the ball around the ground for long periods of time.

Going into this season I tried to implement that into my game, definitely in the earlier part of an innings.

Now I have recovered from the injury and the confidence that I have built up in my left shoulder as the season has progressed, I have now become more free-flowing in the shots I play which I couldn’t do last year due to the injury.

How much do you enjoy playing for the county and how realistic are your chances in the NCCA Trophy final?

Playing for Cumbria is a real privilege. For me personally one of the best things about playing for the county is the pathway you follow leading to the senior team.

I’ve been lucky enough to play for Cumbria since the age of 11 and when you make appearances for the senior side it’s a proud moment for you and your family.

It brings a lot of memories back and makes all the travelling and time invested into the game all worth it.

Obviously playing against good teams and good players who have a lot of experience is something that I enjoy a lot. It allows you to test yourself and play good competitive cricket all around the country.

As a team we don’t fear anyone and I personally think that as a white ball 50 over side we will go into the game full of confidence.

Do you think it’s been good that Minor Counties has become National Counties and how has it affected Cumbria?

The best part of the National Counties is the fact that there are a large number of lads playing that you grew up either playing with or against so the atmosphere around the team is brilliant because each and every time you play you fight for one another.

You play for the Cumbria League champions Furness but they are only lying fourth this year. Is there anything behind this drop in position?

It’s obviously disappointing after such a successful season in 2021 to be only fourth this time going into the last six games.

Having played for Furness first team for over ten years now, and with the success we’ve had in that time, it doesn’t sit easy for us to be only lying fourth this time.

Obviously like any sport there are changes to the players we have, and over the years we’ve had a lot of good players leave us. I feel this has had a massive impact on us this season.

We had issues with the professional’s visa; we lost Mark Daly for a season due to injury and others have football commitments so that’s made it a lot harder.

Cricket is a funny game and there’s still six matches left in the season and anything can still happen. We just need to concentrate of trying to win every game we have left and see where we finish.

We have plans in place for next year so hopefully we can rebuild going forward.

Do you feel the Cumbria League has it right in their match points allocation or should there be merit in batting out for a draw, or the team bowling second having more incentive to bowl out the opposition for extra points?

No I believe the League structure is definitely right. I think win/lose cricket is the best way forward for players and the League. It also mirrors what we play in National Counties cricket.