Ricardo Vasconcelos has been named as the Steelbacks’ Captain for the Royal London Cup.
The keeper-batsman has already led Northamptonshire on a number of occasions in both red and white ball cricket this season, in place of regular Skippers Josh Cobb and Adam Rossington.
“Captaincy is something I’ve wanted to do and to get the chance to do it this young is obviously a big step in my career and I’m looking forward to it.”
Vasconcelos will have a wealth of experience to support him with Wayne Parnell named as Vice-Captain.
“Having Parny [Wayne Parnell] there is massive, he’s played international cricket and played all over the world so to have someone with that much experience and knowledge of the game to lean on will definitely help.
“Also the likes of Graeme White who’s been playing for years and years, there’s enough experience there for me to lean on which I will at some stage I’m sure, it’s nice to have those guys backing me.”
The side are looking to make an impression in the 50-over competition after a tough start to the Vitality Blast saw the Steelbacks finish bottom of the North Group.
“We’ve had a bit of disappointment over the last few weeks. But this is a fresh start, a fresh comp and there’s a good energy in the camp.
“Everyone seems really up for it so we’ll be hoping for a strong start this weekend.”
Vasconcelos leads a 14-man squad for the Steelbacks’ opening fixture of the Royal London Cup at The County Ground on Sunday.
Vasconcelos (c)
Nathan Buck
Ben Curran
Emilio Gay
Freddie Heldreich
Rob Keogh
Simon Kerrigan
Wayne Parnell
Ben Sanderson
Tom Taylor
Charlie Thurston
Graeme White
Jack White
Saif Zaib
Despite the absence of Josh Cobb, Brandon Glover and Adam Rossington, Vasconcelos was confident his side had what it takes to challenge in the Royal London Cup.
“We go into every competition looking to win it and this one’s no different even without some of those senior players.
“It’s not a competition that we’re going to use just to give opportunities, we want to win and we’ll be picking our strongest side every game.”
General Admission tickets for all 4 Royal London Cup home fixtures are available now.