Alex George Wakely (born 3 November 1988) is an English former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

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.

Personal life

Born 3 November 1988 in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, London, Wakely attended

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

. While at the school Wakely was coached by the former England batsman

Derek Randall Derek William Randall (born 24 February 1951) is an English former cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire, and Tests and ODIs for England in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Known to cricketing colleagues and fans as "A ...

. After his

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

, Wakely chose to focus on playing cricket professionally, and being a part time pianist.

Career

Domestic

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 ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. He made scores of 38 and 66, as well as taking two wickets including that of

Marcus Trescothick Marcus Edward Trescothick (born 25 December 1975) is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals.Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

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 A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

against

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

, scoring 113*. For the 2010 season, Wakely was given more of a first team role and began to realise his potential with a century against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

. 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, and won the T20 competition. Wakely played in all of the T20 matches that season and played a key role in the final, scoring 59 from 30 balls. He missed the whole of the 2014 season because of an

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

injury that he received during the club's pre-season tour of Barbados. He returned for the 2015 season recovered, and having been appointed captain in all forms of cricket. He scored two first-class centuries in the season, including a personal highest score of 123 against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. Northants once again reached the final of the T20 competition, but this time lost to

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. 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 Ben Matthew Duckett (born 17 October 1994) is an English cricketer who plays for Nottinghamshire. He is a left-handed batsman who can play as a wicket-keeper. He made his international debut for England in October 2016. Domestic, under 19 and n ...

took Northants from 15/3 to 138/4, himself scoring 53 from 45 balls. The final was versus

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, and Wakely came in to bat with the score at 9/3, and shared in a partnership of 120 with

Josh Cobb Joshua James Cobb (born 17 August 1990) is an English cricket player. He currently plays for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club. He is a top order batsmen and occasional off spin, off-spinner. He was man of the match in the 2011 Friends Life ...

International

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 CupWakely to lead England U19 at World Cup
''Cricinfo'', 1 October 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

References

External links

*
Player Profile: Alex Wakely
from northantscricket.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Wakely, Alex 1988 births Living people English cricketers England cricket captains Bedfordshire cricketers Northamptonshire cricketers Northamptonshire cricket captains Cricketers from Hammersmith People educated at Bedford School