William Farrand Oates (11 June 1929 – 15 May 2001) was an English first-class cricketer, who played for Yorkshire in 1956,[1] and for Derbyshire from 1959 to 1965.
Oates also played with Sheffield United and headed the Yorkshire 2nd XI averages in 1956.
Oates played three matches for Yorkshire in 1956,[1] including one against the touring Australians, but failed to cement a first team place.
Oates was a right-handed batsman, and played 214 innings in 124 first-class matches in the middle-order, scoring 4,588 runs at an average of 22.94 and making two centuries.
He was an off-break bowler and took 13 first-class wickets at an average of 44.38, and a best performance of six for 47 with a mixture of right-arm medium pace and offbreaks, In all matches, he took 54 catches.