Jonny Tattersall: A Leicestershire Fox with a Yorkshire Bear

In the second of our series of interviews with cricketers who are Bear Cricket ambassadors, I spoke with Leicestershire wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Tattersall.

As a former Yorkshire County Cricket Club captain and White Rose stalwart for over a decade, many of our readers will know Jonny, a popular figure at Headingley.

Kit emergency

Tattersall’s links with Bear Cricket stretch back some years after coaching with the brand’s Founder Adam Brown in the Yorkshire pathways. What followed saw Jonny re-invent himself successfully as Yorkshire’s wicketkeeper – and it was at this time he was in a bit of a pickle.

Off to ​​Potchefstroom for pre-season with Yorkshire, Jonny urgently needed wicketkeeping kit and Bear Cricket stepped up:

“I asked Adam: ‘Is there any chance you could help me out?’ and it just blossomed from there. He managed to turn around the kit in three or four days and helped me out in a tricky situation.”

To me at least, it was telling that Tattersall has stayed with Bear Cricket ever since – even when he became Yorkshire captain.

That speaks volumes both on Jonny’s loyalty but also to Bear and the quality of their equipment that serves club, county and international cricketers.

Whether it’s supporting clubs with cricket teamwear or making sure Jonny has batting and keeping gear for county duty, Bear pride themselves on that personalised, reliable service.

Bats: Double grips to a higher middle

We get to talking about batting preferences and like Matty Weston at Woodlands, Jonny used to have double grips as a counter-balance when a younger player.

“It’s evolved a bit as I’ve gotten older and a bit more experienced. I actually prefer a bat that’s got a bit more of a higher middle because I feel like it balances out the bat better.”

Tattersall points out that with the higher bounce in first-class cricket, it works for him compared to what might be the norm in league cricket with lower wickets. By his own admission, though not particularly fussy, there’s a preference for a thinner handle due to the size of his hands.

“It’s a bit of a cricketer’s intuition that when you pick up a bat…you just know that it feels good whereas I’m not specifically like it has to be a certain weight.”

The acid test of course is how it goes in the nets and out in the middle: “Hopefully when you hit a few balls, you get to know whether you’re going to like a bat.”

In my Bradford League interview with Matty, I compared a bat’s pick-up to slipping on comfortable shoes. When you know, you know.

We can forget that it’s ultimately a piece of wood. Natural materials that can behave differently depending on how they’re shaped, dried and pressed.

Trust and protection

It’s a bit of a legside half volley of a question – but what has impressed Jonny about Bear Cricket? Trust, relationships and quality all crop up:

“We’ve just sort of built a relationship and a friendship. There’s been no reason for me to go anywhere else because the kit’s obviously really good. It gives me protection for the games that I’m playing in – and everything has a good shelf life.”

We move onto discussing Jonny’s Kodiak Bear Cricket bat – with the new 2026 Graffiti Edition stickers. I recalled an Instagram post by Leicestershire County Cricket Club celebrating his first hundred for the club (see clip above).

The Kodiak was heavily taped and looked as if it had been through a few battles. Unsurprisingly, a bat that goes well is a precious commodity, whatever standard you play:

“I know exactly the bat you’re talking about. I’ve actually had to repair it a little bit this season. I’ve had that bat for two and a half seasons now. I only tend to use that in matches. It’s a bat I’m really comfortable with and just feels really good.”

At the time of writing, Tattersall’s first-class average of 45, with a hundred and two fifties, represents a strong start for his new county from his first five matches.

Club cricket and Yorkshire roots

Jonny is Yorkshire through and through.

From Harrogate, schooled in Knaresborough and with stints at both of those cricket clubs, as well as York, he knows the Yorkshire Premier League North pretty well.

It’s not unusual to see county cricketers become disconnected from the grassroots game as they hone in on their professional careers with the travel, commitments and intensity that entails.

That’s never been the case with Tattersall who has 9,823 runs, if Play-Cricket can be counted on. He is signed on with Knaresborough and schedules aligned to allow him to hit 97 for them in the K3 Dental Cup win over Appleby Frodingham in late May:

“Unfortunately for me, the first two games I wasn’t playing for Leicestershire, there was no league cricket! I’ve managed to get an opportunity to play when Rehan Ahmed’s gone to the IPL so spots sort of opened up for me to come in and I’ve done quite well.”

As it happens, Bear Cricket also have a good relationship with Knaresborough Cricket Club who use Bear for their cricket teamwear. It ties in well with the long-time Tattersall link weaving brand, player and club together.

With Jonny’s involvement in club cricket, there is loyalty – a theme we return to in this interview:

“It’s my home club. I didn’t really want to go and play anywhere else and I’ve still got my house up in Yorkshire in Knaresborough, so it’s nice for me to be able to just get back home and go see a few friends and sort of escape the cricketing summer, even if it’s just for three or four days.”

He added: “I thought it’d be nice to keep playing for Knaresborough and we obviously did so well last year. I just want to try and help them out where I can really.”

Jonny Tattersall uses the Kodiak Bear Cricket Bat (Players Edition), Players Edition Batting Pads and Players Edition Gloves.

He also uses Pro Wicketkeeping Pads & Pro Wicketkeeping Gloves.

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