Chairman Warren and head coach Ripley pay tribute as Wakely retires

The 32-year-old has called time on a career that saw him represent Northants for 16 years, captaining the team for six of those.

Wakely twice led the Steelbacks to victories in the T20 Blast competition, in 2013 and 2016, and also reached another final in 2015 that was lost to Lancashire.

He retires as the most sucessful captain in the club's long history in terms of trophies won, and Warren said: "Alex Wakely has been an integral part of Northamptonshire County Cricket Club for so many years and we wish him all the best in his retirement.

"In my early tenure alongside David Ripley, Wakers was hugely important in guiding the club into an incredibly successful time on the field, to have brought home the trophy in 2013 and 2016 was a superb achievement.”

In all, Wakely made 371 appearances for Northants in all competitions, skippered the team on 198 occasions, and scored more than 12,000 runs in all competitions.

Most of those were made with David Ripley as head coach, and he said: “Alex Wakely has been an absolute credit to himself and his family throughout his Northamptonshire career.

"I shared my best days in cricket with him and would like to thank him for his leadership, skill and friendship during his time with the club.

"He’s universally regarded by team-mates, opposition, umpires and supporters as a top bloke.”