An Interview with Rob Maggs, ahead of the 2025 season
30 April 2025
An Interview with Rob Maggs, ahead of the 2025 season
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What is your priority for this season, league, cup, or both?
“I think the aim for both the first and second teams is really to be very competitive and try to win both their leagues. In Premier One we've always looked to do well, but the national cup holds a special place in our hearts, and we always like to do well against different teams at different venues across the country.
For the threes and fours, the thirds have gone into a new league and will be skippered by Will Ireland, so we will be looking for this young side to hold their own. For our fourths, they will again be captained by Dave Pippett. This is where our young players get their first taste of senior cricket, so if we can have a good, solid season for them, we'll be in a good place.
As we've got a few new signings, we have good numbers competing for spots in all our squads, which can only be good for the club.”
Who do you think will be your biggest league rivals this season?
“In Premier One, our biggest league rivals will probably be Thornbury, who came up last year, and seem to have a consistent squad. Potterne and Bridgewater obviously are going to be there or there abouts this season, with their strong squads.
Others to watch are Bristol, who did really well last year, and Bedminster. In particular, Bedminster put a good, strong run together during the second half of last season, so depending on availability of their players, they should also be competing at the top of the table. So I think it's an open league this year with lots of competition – so an exciting league to be involved in.”
Do you have any new players for the 2025 season?
“We’ve got quite a few news faces to watch out for. We've signed Will Hope from Cheltenham, who is presently studying at the University of Bath. We've also signed Jack Minot from South Wilts, who's going to be around for a little bit. And we've signed two or three players for the seconds squad. This fresh blood will hopefully freshen things up a little bit and add to competition for places.
We're also welcoming back Brad Porteous from South Africa as our overseas player. He's married now to a lovely English girl, Sophie Arney, so we’re very much looking forward to welcoming Brad back as he's much loved around the club. This will be his fifth season, so he's part of the furniture now. We're hoping that after he's had a quiet summer in South Africa with a neck injury, that he hits the ground running for us. He arrived last week, and he's excited to get involved and get going.”
What else is happening throughout the club?
“The main changes around the club have been around the clubhouse, which, if people want to visit, they'll see a bit more history on the walls and those players that have gone on to play professional cricket. This freshen up includes an exciting new menu that Lauren and the team have put together, and a fresh makeover for the bar and new seating areas outside.
It’s always been a great place to come and watch some quality cricket, but with the new menu and a large selection of beers and wine, hopefully we will attract even more people to North Parade to watch and enjoy the cricket but also enjoy the hospitality as well.”
What's your hopes for the youth section?
“Mark Watts has brilliantly led the youth section over the winter and our main aim is to make sure everyone has a good opportunity to play cricket and improve their skills by training in small groups. It would be great to hear from everyone at the end of the season that they've had a fair opportunity to play, enjoy their training, and enjoy cricket.”
How are you developing cricket in Bath and across the area?
“We have a new exciting initiative that's going to be launched later this year where the aim is to make cricket as strong as possible across BANES. This initiative will be supported by the Somerset Cricket Foundation, and it will follow a similar model to Chance to Shine, by giving both state school girls and boys the opportunity to play cricket, hopefully to then join a local club to continue their enjoyment of the game. There'll be some more information coming out soon on what we're going to try and achieve as a cricket club, and how we can really drive interest in cricket across the BANES area so more girls and boys join local clubs like ourselves, Lansdown, Hampset, Bear Flat etc. Essentially, we're looking to service all the cricket clubs in the area and make cricket as strong as possible in BANES.”
