Alex Wakely has signed a two-year extension to his contract, keeping him at Northamptonshire CCC until the end of the 2019 season.

The new deal will see Wakely’s stay at the club reach the 15-year mark, after graduating from the academy at Wantage Road.

Northamptonshire’s Head Coach, David Ripley spoke very highly of the club captain: “It’s great news and very good for the club. Al’s a great leader, very popular in the changing room and around the ground. 

“We’re really proud of the fact that in our first-team squad, we’ve got a lot of guys that have come through our Academy. When the lads come through as ‘junior Steelbacks’, hopefully that means a lot to them when they get in the first-team, in Al’s case he’s now the leader of the club.

After suffering a serious Achilles injury during pre-season in 2014, ‘Wakers’ missed the entire summer, but was made captain of all formats upon his return to the side the next year.

In winning the T20 Blast for a second time in 2016, he became the first captain of Northamptonshire to lead the team to two one-day trophies.

Wakely played a huge part in both successes, scoring 59 from 30 balls in the 2013 final, and he was involved in two century partnerships against Notts and Durham on finals day last season.

 “He’s played with a lot of skill in the last couple of years,” said Ripley, “particularly in cementing that number three spot where he’s cranked up the runs and outcomes from there.

“In white ball cricket, finals day kind of epitomises him, cool and calm under pressure and leading the side well. Two final wins and a runners-up in four years is a phenomenal effort, and he’s played a massive part in that. It’s great to have him round for a bit longer.”

He averaged an impressive 39.38 in the County Championship in 2016, making four 50s and a century, as well as a strike rate of 134.91 in the T20 Blast.

Speaking of his contract extension, Wakers said: “I'm buzzing to have signed a deal to stay here.  I've loved the last 10 years at Northants and I am enjoying my cricket with these boys more than ever.

“There is so much talent in this dressing room – it’s an absolute joy to captain.

“On a personal level I have so much more I want to achieve. Scoring big hundreds that have eluded me so far is definitely this year’s aim and I’m delighted that I’ll have the chance to do this at Northants.”

Here is what Alex had to say on extending his contract: