My dad is a Great British gold medallist athlete – now I represent England playing a different sport
TOM HARTLEY has been named as one of the spinners in England’s Test squad ahead of next year’s tour in India.
But no matter how far he goes in cricket he will always be reminded of his gold-medalist dad and former Great Britain 400m runner Bill Hartley.
Tom Hartley has been named as one of the spinners in England’s Test squadGetty
GettyTom’s dad is Bill Hartley who won gold for Great Britain in the 1974 European Championships[/caption]
GettyTom made his ODI debut for England in September[/caption]
Hartley, 24, has two England ODI caps to his name and has taken 40 first-class wickets at an average of 36.57.
The Lancashire left-armer was a part of the England Lions squad that trained in the United Arab Emirates last month.
He is now set to form part of a four-pronged spin attack for England’s Test team in India in January.
Meanwhile, his dad Bill represented Great Britain in athletics, winning a European gold medal in 1974 in the 4x400m relay alongside Alan Pascoe, David Jenkins and Glen Cohen.
Earlier that year Bill won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand for the same event.
Now he proudly watches his son from the stands as he continues the family’s sporting legacy.
And in 2021 Tom revealed he wants to follow the sporting success his father once had after he made his first-class debut in 2020 for Lancashire.
He said in an interview with The Cricketer: “Dad always had me in the back garden playing footy and cricket and stuff.
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“He was quite happy for me to go down my own route, he didn’t pressure me to go into athletics.
“He’d had a lifetime of it, and I think he was pretty happy to be away from it.
“And he’s always been a keen cricket fan, so he had no problem with me jumping down that route.
“He’s been real rock for me. He’s been there, he’s been a pro athlete and I feel like I can take a lot from him.
“If I feel like I’m getting slower, I’ll ask him to do some sprint training because he’s got all that knowledge.
“And, seeing what he’s done, I feel like I have to do him one more!”
In April 2022, Tom was bought by the Manchester Originals for the 2022 season of The Hundred.
He finally earned his ODI debut for England against Ireland in September.
Now he will be part of England’s squad ahead of their five Tests in India, with the first match getting underway in Hyderabad on January 25.
