Immortalising the action: A conversation with Neil Duggan

As county cricket fans, we’re extremely privileged to have some of the most talented and dedicated individuals in the entire business capturing the action for us on a day-to-day basis at grounds up and down the country, ensuring that the moments that shape the journeys of our favourite players and teams will continue to be remembered for many, many years to come.

One such individual who’s developed quite the ability for capturing these iconic moments on a regular basis in recent seasons - especially when it comes to Worcestershire County Cricket Club - is Neil Duggan, a lifelong county cricket fan and familiar face at New Road who works as the official club photographer for the Rapids Women’s team.

Over the duration of his time in the industry so far, Duggan has already amassed quite the impressive professional portfolio with the camera in hand, with his images regularly seen on the Worcestershire CCC website and social media channels as well as various national cricketing publications such as The Cricketer.

With that magnificent portfolio of images firmly embedded in the front and centre of my mind during the opening exchanges of the 2026 season, I decided to sit down with Neil on a sunny spring afternoon at Station Road – the home of Knowle and Dorridge Cricket Club – to speak about his earliest recollections of the game, his love of all things sports photography as well as his memories from last year’s unforgettable Metro Bank One Day Cup Final triumph at Trent Bridge.

Here's what he had to say:

Neil, it's great to speak about all things sports photography and your own journey in the field on such a nice day here at Station Road. It's the obvious opening question but what are your earliest memories of cricket, either playing or watching the game?

I still remember my first game quite well... it was 1982 and England were playing Pakistan at Edgbaston. The Hollies - or the Rea Bank Stand as it was called back then - was full and my parents dropped me off outside the ground so I could buy a ticket. I get to the gate, pay my £1.50 to get in, walk up the stairs of my stand and guess who's coming out to bat? Ian Botham.

The ground was full at this point; he starts swinging his arms as he walks out into the middle and the noise was incredible. I was actually taken aback by it a bit in all honesty. Anyway, he gets ready to face his first ball and guess what happens next? He's hit on the pad, gone lbw for a golden duck!

I'll never forget that day, and a couple of weeks later, I went to my first ever County Championship match, also at Edgbaston. The rest is history I suppose…

And from those early days of watching England play test cricket from the stands of Edgbaston as a spectator, how did you first get involved in the world of sports photography?

Well, I always used to do it on a local level when my boys were playing on the Worcestershire pathway - so I already had a bit of experience - but my first real opportunity came as illness cover for Warwickshire's club photographer in 2023.

I'd been a business development manager for all of my career up until that point and it was almost a cue for me to go, you know what, what if I start doing this as my job? Anyway, I was offered a new role at my previous workplace that I wasn't as passionate about, and I turned it down in favour of redundancy. I wanted to give the photography a good go.

I upgraded my kit with the redundancy money and off I went; I haven't looked back since really.

What's been your favourite aspect of being a sports photographer?

Capturing the special moments. As a photographer, you're always on a mission to capture an image that will stand the test of time and when you get a good one, it's a great feeling. Then when you show the players and their faces immediately light up because they love the picture, that makes it all worth it.

With that theme of capturing those special moments in mind, what would you say has been the best photograph that you've taken for Worcestershire over the years?

There's definitely a couple that stand out, but you might have to give me a moment first...

When my lads were growing up, I got my coaching qualifications and started doing a bit of coaching at Astwood Bank. I did that for four years or so. I started out with the Under-10s and one of the lads that I coached was Josh Baker.

He was only seven when he made the transition from hardball to softball cricket and then he was part of the team that I coached for the next three years. I used to play cricket with his Dad as well and he was there - along with the rest of the family - when Josh made his 1st XI debut for Worcestershire and got Sam Hain out lbw at New Road. That was a really special day looking back.

At last year's One Day Cup Final at Trent Bridge, it was a very emotional time for us all, especially given what had happened the year before, but I just had a feeling that something good was going to happen on that day.

We’d known Henry [Cullen] for years and he had always been really close with Josh ever since their days of playing against one another in junior cricket. Astwood Bank used to play against Barnt Green a lot – with Henry usually being the one to score the big runs against us -  so they got to know each other quite well over the years and became good friends from that point onwards. Henry was also there on that tragic morning in 2024, so for him to be the one to hit the winning runs in the final… well, you couldn't have asked for a more fitting ending really.

After the umpires signalled for the winning boundary, I took a photo of him celebrating with Waitey [Matthew Waite] out in the middle where they both have this look of utter disbelief and amazement that they’d just done it, so, yeah, that one would definitely be up there for a number of reasons.

And then there's the image of Paul and Lisa - Josh's parents - that made it onto The Cricketer, but that’s a whole other story…

If you don’t mind me asking Neil, what is the story behind that particular photo?

It’s a really lovely story looking back.

I already knew where Josh’s parents would be at the ground and after the match had finished and the players were coming over to celebrate, the crowd ushered them to the front and Rob [Jones] handed the trophy over to both Paul and Lisa so they could have a picture with the rest of the fans who had travelled to Nottingham that day.

I ended up getting a great photo of them and immediately went up to the press box and told everyone, “I’ve got something really special for you, just give me two minutes and I’ll have it all sorted out”.

As you can imagine, Nick Friend – who works for The Cricketer - was really excited after hearing that and as soon as he saw it, he was asking if they could use it right away! I told him to have a chat with our press officer, just to make sure that the club were 100% happy with them using it, and the next thing I knew, it was on the front page, so that’ll always be a really special photo for me too.

Well, it is a fantastic photo, and one that captured the emotions of that day very fittingly indeed, so I can see why you hold it in such high regard. And in addition to those images of the Men’s side, I know that you’ve also been working closely with the Women’s team as part of your role as the club photographer over the past few years as well. How have you found the role itself and what does a typical matchday with the Rapids look like?

I've been working with the Worcestershire Women's team for the past three years and the club should really be applauded for how they support their tier two team. The team get their own pre-season media night, a dedicated match day team, amazing coaching - and medical support - and it was great to see a couple of the team going to Italy for their kit launch photos.

They are also a lovely team to work with, and you can see how the experienced players, like Clare [Boycott], Jess [Beach] & Gwen [Davies] are helping the stars of the future like Caitlin-Baker Smith & Daisy Egerton break through the ranks in the first team. Seeing the likes of Caitlin and Daisy featuring regularly in the 1st XI sends out a really positive message to the youngsters on the pathway and to those on the local club circuit too, so the future of the county looks really bright.

Then in terms of a standard matchday for me, I think a good example would be the One Day Cup game at RGS [Worcester] the other day. I got there at around 08:40, spent the day shooting at the ground and didn't leave until around 17:45. Then after a 30-minute journey home, I had some food and did some editing until 21:30. My eyes were pretty sore by then!

As a photographer though, I’m always looking for little ways to provide extra value, and because the girls have been so good to me, I'm always keen to give them a bit more with the images whenever I can. With that in mind, I got up at 05:30 the following morning to do another hour of the edit and finished everything off to the best possible standard that I could. I had a day of shooting at the JB33 Foundation Charity Day after that as well, so it was quite a full-on weekend! 

Speaking of the JB33 Foundation Neil, I know that you're heavily involved with them at the minute, especially on the social media side of things. If you don't mind me asking, what does the foundation do to help out aspiring cricketers in the local area?

The first thing the foundation provides is an increased opportunity for youngsters through initiatives like grants. Recently, there were a few young cricketers on the fringes of the pathway at both Worcestershire and Warwickshire who were struggling with things like transport and coaching costs, so the foundation offered them financial support to ensure that they can keep pursuing their dream of becoming a professional cricketer.

Then the other major aspect of the foundation, which Lisa [Baker] has been heavily involved in, is making sure that local clubs are properly trained on how to use defibrillators and delivering CPR in the event of an incident. It’s great to see that more clubs have got the equipment nowadays, but it’s also important to make sure that they’re properly maintained and that there are multiple people who actually know how to access them and how to use them in case there’s an emergency.

They’re doing some fantastic work, and it’s a nice feeling to know that you’re helping out people in the local community, so I’ve absolutely loved being involved on the social media and marketing side of things. We’ve also got some amazing events going on throughout the year, so watch out for those as well!

That’s wonderful to hear, and of course we’re all wishing yourself and the foundation all the very best heading into the rest of this summer and beyond! And on that positive note Neil, to round out today’s conversation, what advice would you give to any aspiring sports photographers out there who are maybe just starting out in the field itself?

I'd say my first tip is to not spend big money when you just start out. The cost of mirrorless cameras is coming down and there are websites out there where you can buy second hand cameras and lenses, so you can pick up some basic equipment for a decent price nowadays and still take some nice pictures with it.

After that, my next one would be to get in touch with any local cricket clubs as they're always looking for ways to attract new members and increase interest, so I'd recommend asking around and seeing what opportunities might be out there for you to get a foot in the door.

My final tip, which is the most important one in my mind, is to always think about your background. The most common thing I see with new photographers is choosing to shoot from a position with a busy or a messy background. From experience, clubs, and fans, prefer to see images with a clear subject and a clean background so that would be my number one tip personally. 

To find out more about the incredible work that Neil, Lisa and Paul are doing with the JB33 Foundation, please feel free to visit www.jb33foundation.com for additional information or follow the foundation on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn by using 'JB33Foundation' to stay up to date with upcoming events and fundraisers.