Wakely was given the honour of taking on the white ball captaincy at just 24 and helping guide the Steelbacks to 3 T20 Finals Days in 4 years, taking home the trophy on two occasions. County captaincy seemed a natural progression for someone with clear leadership ability, an ability which had already been recognised when he was appointed England’s captain for the 2008 Under-19 World Cup.

Wakers has been a loyal servant to Northamptonshire County Cricket Club playing over 360 matches and scoring over 11500 runs in a career spanning over 13-years to date.

He stepped down from the captaincy during the 2019 which saw him return to form with the bat and averaged 36.50 runs in the County Championship last season. This included a century at home to Worcestershire in August.

His hard work and dedication to the club has seen Wakley be awarded a testimonial year.