Australian influence sits easily with Ripley

Trent Copeland made an impression both on and off the field in his two stints as the County's overseas player

The County struck gold with the acquisition of New South Wales seamer Trent Copeland this year and also got their money’s worth out of Victorian batsman Cameron White.

The pair’s appearances dovetailed quite nicely as it turned out, with White slotting seamlessly into the breach for the Friends Life t20 and a few surrounding fixtures when Copeland returned home after his first stint.

And for that reason, and with their national side’s schedule sitting more favourably with the English domestic season in 2014, head coach Ripley admitted that his focus will be drawn down under.

He said: “Trent brought a lot to the club, not only in terms of his bowling but also with the Aussie mentality.

“He was a big part of the dressing room and brought a hardened, competitive edge to the side, just as Cameron did when he arrived.

“That side of things can be underestimated but I’ve found that Australians are generally good to have around, they talk a lot of sense and have a good attitude to the game.”

After the Ashes at the end of the year, the Australians’ commitments are relatively light in relation to the English summer and Ripley is hoping that may play into the County’s hands.

He added: “You’re probably not going to get one of their bigger players but those who are younger and on the fringes might be keen to come over here for a couple of months.

“If you can manage their workload it can work out well and that would be the position we’d be in, especially if we went for a bowler.”

The recruitment of a player actively involved with an international side inevitably brings with it certain conditions and Ripley admitted that the absence of such restrictions was a major plus with Copeland.

“The massive positive for us, and this is something that wasn’t really picked up on, was the fact that he would bowl for an entire session and was quite happy to do it.

“He wanted to make an impact and if Stephen (Peters) wanted that then he’d do it.

“Trent was quite unique in that regard and any club would struggle to find a bowler in that mould.”