Experienced Wakely confident County have the strength in depth to handle step up to division one

When Alex Wakely thinks back to the most recent time when Northants were preparing for a season in the top flight of English cricket, it is fair to say there aren’t many happy memories.
Northants batsman Alex Wakely is looking forward to life in the top flight of English cricketNorthants batsman Alex Wakely is looking forward to life in the top flight of English cricket
Northants batsman Alex Wakely is looking forward to life in the top flight of English cricket

The summer of 2013 was a great one for the club, with Wakely leading the Steelbacks to their first T20 title at Edgbaston, and a Trent Copeland-inspired four-day team claiming promotion from division two.

But 2014 wasn’t quite so much fun.

It was the first time Northants had been promoted since 2003, but it was to prove to be a summer of discontent - particularly for Wakely, who missed the entire campaign after rupturing an Achilles tendon on the club’s pre-season tour to Barbados.

Pakistan Test all-rounder Faheem Ashraf has been signed by Northants for the first half of the Specsavers County Championship campaignPakistan Test all-rounder Faheem Ashraf has been signed by Northants for the first half of the Specsavers County Championship campaign
Pakistan Test all-rounder Faheem Ashraf has been signed by Northants for the first half of the Specsavers County Championship campaign
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Then, as far as the team went, there were some serious issues with recruitment.

The hero of 2013, seam bowler Copeland, couldn’t return as he was ineligible due to the fact he hadn’t won a Test cap for Australia in the previous two years.

Several attempts were made to replace him for the summer, but they failed as a clutch of deals fell through.

In the end, New Zealanders Ian Butler and Neil Wagner came in for short stints at either end of the season, which was far from ideal .

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There was also an injury to key all-rounder David Willey, and it meant the Northants squad was really stretched at the higher level.

And as it transpired, David Ripley’s side struggled badly,.

They failed to win a single game, losing 12 of the 16 fixtures to finish rock bottom with just 79 points.

Now, as the Northants squad prepares for another stab at division one cricket, Wakely believes the squad is much better prepared for what lies ahead, and that they can approach the season with confidence.

“We are massively better equipped this time, because the year we got promoted last time everything went wrong,” said Wakely.

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“I didn’t play a game after getting injured in Barbados, David Willey got injured, we had no overseas players because they kept falling through, and everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong.

“I know that is not an excuse, but we were on the back foot before we started, and we just never managed to claw it back.

“We were also exposed a little bit in our skills, and it was more about attritional cricket in the first division, whereas in the second division it had been all about getting results.

“You look at the amount of games in the second division that were over in two or three days, because it was more beneficial to win, and you have to risk losing to do that.

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“Whereas in the first division a lot more games are drawn, you face a lot more spin, and it is about batting for long periods of time, bowling for long periods of time and that’s what our focus is on with the four day stuff.”

Northants have recruited well over the summer, with the signing of Pakistan all-rounder Faheem Ashraf for the first half of the season, as well as pace bowlers Brandon Glover and Jack White.

All-rounder Gareth Berg joined at the back end of last season, while opening batsman Ricardo Vasconcelos is fit and available again after missing the last three months of last season through injury.

Add in the likes of Ben Sanderson, Brett Hutton, Nathan Buck, Luke Procter, Adam Rossington, Richard Levi, Josh Cobb, Rob Keogh and Wakely himself, and there is a genuine cause for optimism.

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Wakely certainly believes the squad is now deep enough to handle the step up in class.

He also feels that players know they have to perform to keep their place in the team - something that has not always been the case in the past.

“I think we are a lot more geared up for it this time,” said Wakely.

“We have a lot more options, and the big thing throughout the squad for me is that there is competition for places.

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“If you have competition for places then it means you are going to have a more successful squad, because people are always putting pressure on people. Sometimes over the past few years it has perhaps gone a little bit easy, because there was no-one there putting pressure on, whereas that is not the case now.

“In every position there are two or three players jumping up ready to take your spot, and that is exactly what you need in professional sport.”