Peters relishing leadership role

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Stephen Peters is determined to look “onwards and upwards” after taking over the club captaincy at Northamptonshire.

Peters will lead the Wantage Road side in four-day cricket next summer, with Alex Wakely at the helm for limited-overs matches following Andrew Hall’s decision to step down in order to focus on his own game.

Northants endured a disappointing year in 2012, having narrowly missed out on promotion to LV= County Championship Division One in two of the previous three seasons.

Yet opening batsman Peters, a regular fixture in the side for several years, is excited by the challenge that awaits him.

Speaking exclusively to ecb.co.uk, the 33-year-old said: “I’m under no illusions as to the task ahead and the hard work involved, but it’s something I’m certainly looking forward to.

“I’m obviously very excited and proud. It came quite quickly, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. When the opportunity came up, I grabbed it with both hands.

“We under-performed last year and our results were poor, but there were a lot of changes at the club and we’re trying to look onwards and upwards.

Stephen Peters told ecb.co.uk he was "very excited and proud" after replacing Andrew Hall as club captain at Northamptonshire

“What I do know is (head coach) David Ripley and myself will work as hard as we possibly can to get us moving in the right direction again.”

Peters is comfortable with Northants’ decision to share leadership duties between himself and Wakely, who skippered the team on several occasions in 2012 when Hall was unavailable.

“I’m delighted I’m doing the four-dayers and I’m delighted Alex Wakely is doing the one-dayers,” Peters added.

“It’s not anything new; we’re not reinventing the wheel or anything. I’m sure it will work well.

“Alex has been one of our best one-day players for the past two seasons, so I think that’s absolutely the right decision.”

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