Wikipedia

Alex Wakely

Alex George Wakely (born 3 November 1988) is an English former cricketer who played for Northamptonshire and was also a former captain of the England under-19s. He is a right-hand batsman, bowls off-breaks and sometimes medium pace bowling. In May 2021, Wakely announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.[1]

Alex Wakely
Personal information
Full name
Alex George Wakely
Born (1988-11-03) 3 November 1988 (age 35)
Hammersmith, London, England
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight arm medium
Right-arm off break
RoleMiddle Order Batsman
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2004–2021Northamptonshire (squad no. 8)
2004–2009Bedfordshire
FC debut13 July 2007 Northants v Somerset
Last FC8 April 2021 Northants v Kent
LA debut4 May 2005 Bedfordshire v Sussex
Last LA20 June 2019 Northants v Australia A
Career statistics
Competition FC LA T20
Matches 148 90 133
Runs scored 6,880 2,532 2,597
Batting average 31.27 32.88 26.23
100s/50s 9/37 2/18 0/14
Top score 123 109* 64
Balls bowled 509 136 12
Wickets 6 5 0
Bowling average 71.00 26.20 –
5 wickets in innings 0 0 –
10 wickets in match 0 0 –
Best bowling 2/62 2/14 –
Catches/stumpings 98/– 32/– 42/–
Source: Cricinfo, 26 May 2021

Personal life edit

Born 3 November 1988 in Hammersmith, London, Wakely attended Bedford School. While at the school Wakely was coached by the former England batsman Derek Randall. After his A-levels, Wakely chose to focus on playing cricket professionally, and being a part time pianist.[2]

Career edit

Domestic edit

In 2004, Wakely joined the staff of Northamptonshire whilst still in full-time education. He scored 81* on his Northamptonshire Second XI debut aged just 15. In July 2007, he made his first-class debut for Northamptonshire against Somerset. He made scores of 38 and 66, as well as taking two wickets including that of Marcus Trescothick.[3] He played three more first-class matches in 2007 but after scoring 55 against Nottinghamshire he managed only single figure scores in his last five innings. After that poor run of form, he had a spell in the second XI before returning to the first XI in 2009. On 16 June that year, Wakely scored his maiden first-class century against Glamorgan, scoring 113*.[4] For the 2010 season, Wakely was given more of a first team role and began to realise his potential with a century against Middlesex at Lord's.[5]

For the 2013 season, Wakely captained the Northants team in limited overs cricket. This proved to be a successful move; the team finished second in its group in the 40 over league,[6] and won the T20 competition.[7] Wakely played in all of the T20 matches that season and played a key role in the final, scoring 59 from 30 balls.[8]

He missed the whole of the 2014 season because of an Achilles tendon injury that he received during the club's pre-season tour of Barbados.[9]

He returned for the 2015 season recovered, and having been appointed captain in all forms of cricket.[10] He scored two first-class centuries in the season, including a personal highest score of 123 against Leicestershire.[11] Northants once again reached the final of the T20 competition, but this time lost to Lancashire.[12] The next year, Northants returned to Twenty20 finals day with Wakely again captain, and were this time victorious. He was involved in century partnerships in both the semi-final and the final. In the semi, against Notts he and Ben Duckett took Northants from 15/3 to 138/4, himself scoring 53 from 45 balls.[13] The final was versus Durham, and Wakely came in to bat with the score at 9/3, and shared in a partnership of 120 with Josh Cobb.[14]

International edit

Wakely was picked for the England under-19s tour of Sri Lanka in 2006/07. He scored England's only century of the tri-nation series with 108 from 140 balls against Sri Lanka. In August, he scored a century on his 'Test' debut for England under-19s against Pakistan. On 1 October 2007, he was selected as the England under-19s captain for the 2008 World Cup[15]

References edit

  1. ^ "Alex Wakely, Northants' two-time T20-winning captain, retires from professional cricket". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  2. ^ Coyne, James (July 2007), "Rising stars: Alex Wakeley", ESPNcricinfo, retrieved 15 August 2011
  3. ^ Somerset v Northamptonshire, County Championship 2007 Cricket Archive. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  4. ^ "Wakely comes to Northants' rescue", BBC Sport, 18 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  5. ^ "Stephen Peters and Alex Wakely's tons steady Northants", BBC Sport, 6 June 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  6. ^ "YORKSHIRE BANK 40 Points Table". Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Northamptonshire's David Willey's treble sees off Surrey in t20 final". The Guardian. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  8. ^ Dobell, George. "Willey seals Northants' first trophy since 1992". Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  9. ^ "Northamptonshire one day skipper Alex Wakely set to miss entire 2014 season with achilles injury". Northampton Herald & Post. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2016.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Wakely handed full Northants captaincy". Cricinfo. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Wakely century revives Northants". Cricinfo. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  12. ^ Rae, Richard (29 August 2015). "Lancashire clinch T20 title by holding nerve against Northamptonshire". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  13. ^ Dobell, George (20 August 2016). "Duckett stars as Northants reach final". Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  14. ^ Macpherson, Will (20 August 2016). "Josh Cobb steers Northants over line to win NatWest T20 Blast against Durham". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  15. ^ Wakely to lead England U19 at World Cup, Cricinfo, 1 October 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

External links edit

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