Stephen Peters has found a kindred spirit in head coach David Ripley and says that Northamptonshire will be “as prepared as we can be” for the upcoming season.
The 2013 campaign sees Peters at the helm for the County Championship having succeeded Andrew Hall in the off season.
It will also be Ripleys’ first full season in the head coach’s role with his ascension to the position coming in the wake of David Capel’s sacking midway through last year and the former believes that they are both operating from the same agenda.
He said: “He’s (Ripley) a jovial bloke but I’ve learned that he’s very meticulous.
“Everything is planned and there hasn’t been the need to have meetings every 10 minutes
“If there’s something he wants to discuss then we do it and if there’s a decision to be made then he will make it.
“We don’t want to leave anything to chance, for example, the pre-season tour has already been planned and I think that we’ll be as prepared as we can be.”
The serious business of the cricket is less than two months away and Peters says that,as should be the case, spirits are high among the management.
He continued: “The good thing about Phil (Rowe, 2nd XI coach), Rips and myself is that we’re good mates but don’t mind challenging each other and a disagreement isn’t held against anyone.
“I know we’re all looking forward to it. Whether it’s blind optimism or not I don’t know but if you can’t be enthusiastic at this time of year then you shouldn’t really be doing it.”
Another change this year will see Peters sharing the captaincy workload with Alex Wakely, the latter taking control of the club’s limited overs fortunes.
And while that could provide a recipe for strife, Peters prefers to look at it from a more positive angle and insists that a more regular spot in the one-day side is high on his list of priorities.
“It’s almost a standard thing now and a few clubs have already done it.” he said.“
“I’d like to feature in the CB40 cricket and that comes down to being a selection thing.
“I’ll prepare and be ready to play but if I’m not involved then I’ll get ready for the next four-day game.
“I think the time to do this is right. Alex has still got a few things to prove in the four-day game but he’s been our best one-day batsman for a while and he’s experienced in that style of the game.
“If I do play then I’ll help out if asked but I’ll throw myself about in the field, have my bat and see how I go.”
 |  |