Paul Robert Bates (born 9 May 1974) is a former English cricketer. Bates was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm medium-fast. He was born at Chippenham, Wiltshire. Bates made his Minor Counties Championship debut for Wiltshire against Oxfordshire in 2000. From 2000 to 2002, he represented the county in 8 Minor Counties Championship matches, the last of which came against Cheshire in 2002. Bates also represented Wiltshire in the MCCA Knockout Trophy. His debut in that competition came against the Gloucestershire Cricket Board in 2000. He played one further Trophy match in 2000 against Cornwall and played his final Trophy match in 2002 against Devon.