HARROGATE opening batsman Adam Patel has left the club, dealing the St George's Road side another blow as they look to move off the bottom of the ECB Yorkshire League.
Patel has moved back into the Bradford League to join Pudsey Congs, leaving a gap in Harrogate’s already threadbare upper order.
The opener has been in fine form this summer but has decided to exit the County Ground gates.
“I’m not playing at H
arrogate anymore,” he said.
“I’ve moved back into the Bradford League to play for Pudsey Congs. It’s just a bit closer to home.”
‘Gate return to action tomorrow at home to Hull & YPI who despite nestled in mid table are still a whopping 34 points in front of David Stiff’s men (12 noon start).
The home side are in desperate need of a victory if there is any chance of them catching nearest rivals Appleby Frodingham.
However new winter recruit Stuart Clark sees Patel’s exit as a chance to cement his place at the top of the order.
He feels it is up to the team now to pull their weight as they look to move off the bottom of the table.
“We’ve got to look at it as an opportunity rather than a loss,” he said.
“It just means other batsmen in the side need to step up to the plate.
“Adam will be a big loss, he’s a good player and a good thinker.”
As for the rest of the season Clark is hopeful his side can improve on their poor first half and come storming back up the Yorkshire League table.
‘Gate have reached the halfway point in the season nailed to the bottom with only one win to their name but Clark is confident their fortunes will turn around, sooner rather than later.
“It’s a bit disappointing at the moment because it’s never nice to lose,” he said.
“But we’re all hoping we can go on a bit of a run now. I don’t see any reason why we can’t, I think there’s a lot of teams in this division who are beatable.
“Of course there’s York and Barnsley at the top who look like they will challenge for the title but even they are beatable on the day.
“The rest of the teams all seem to be beating each other and I’m confident we can give all of them a game.”
Clark has also backed his skipper to shine in the back end of the campaign and is enjoying playing under his leadership this season.
“He’s a really good player and obviously he’s had county experience at Leicestershire, Kent and England U-19s,” he added.
“I’m enjoying playing with him and learning from him.
“We’ve just got to keep going. It’s not been the best start but we’re all confident things will change soon.”
ECB Yorkshire LeaguePPts
York 11 58
Barnsley 11 57
Scarborough 11 52
Castleford 11 50
Doncaster Town 11 45
Hull & YPI 11 45
Cleethorpes 11 41
Rotherham Town 11 40
Sheffield Collegiate 11 39
Sheffield United 11 37
Driffield Town 11 29
Yorkshire Academy 11 28
Appleby Frodingham 11 27
Harrogate 11 11
The full article contains 553 words and appears in Harrogate Advertiser newspaper.
