Northamptonshire head coach David Ripley has said that the 2013 season will constitute a new beginning.
The appointment of Stephen Peters as the new club captain after Andrew Hall stood down earlier this week will lend a refreshing air to the club following a poor campaign this year.
Add to the equation the installation of Alex Wakely as Peters’ deputy and captain for all one-day cricket and you have a comnpletely changed management structure in place.
But while it may be a more convoluted set-up that some would prefer, Ripley believes that the twin captaincy policy can be a success.
He said: “When you look at the candidates they are both strong.
“The benefits for us are that they are both frehs and energetic and will throw themselves into their roles.
“Captaining in all three competitions, which I’ve done, can be a tiring business as a county season can be tough.
“This will be a fresh start for me, even though I’ve been doing the job for a short whole, and the captains and I think it’s the right one.”
It would be easy to draw the conclusion that Ripley has had an agenda to shake things up, especially given the stagnation that had occured prior to his ascension, but he indicated that this wasn’t the case.
He added: “It’s just the way that it’s panned out really.
“I’ve had a couple of months in the dressing room assessing things and seeing who was well placed to grab hold of things.
“Hally (Andrew Hall) had done a good job over the past couple of years and this is about getting the most out of him in the next two years.
“And I’m excited about the management team that we’ve got in place.
“Stephen is a bit more experienced and Alex is younger so we’ve got most bases covered.”
With Wakely being groomed to take over at some stage in the future but not considered ready to assume full responsibility quite yet, Peters was the obvious choice for the job and Ripley has no concerns.
“He’s well respected by the younger and older players,” he said.
“He’s passionate about his own game and the club and he’ll bring his own twist to it.
“In terms of the bread and butter stuff like tactics, there are no issues there as he’s been around for a while.
“It’s a big job but he’s got his own style and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
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