It is not often that three ex-England sports captains find themselves together in the Great Hall at Bedford School. Sir Alastair Cook, CBE (98-03), Dylan Hartley and the Honourable Chris Cowdrey took to the stage to help celebrate OB Alex Wakely’s (96-07) Testimonial dinner.
The Great Hall was packed to the rafters with Alex’s friends, family and many from the school community. It was wonderful to see so many OBs there to support Alex. Cowdrey very kindly acted as compere throughout the evening, questioning Cook and Hartley about the current state of the national sides in their respective sports. Both provided a fascinating insight into the relationship between captain and coach, which differs greatly between the two sports, and shared lots of amusing anecdotes.
Alex has been a player at Northamptonshire CCC since joining as a County Age group cricketer, aged 14. His first-class debut was against Somerset in July 2007. At 24 Alex was appointed as captain in limited overs cricket and, that year, 2013, Northants won the T20 final; their first trophy in 21 years. Alex scored an unbeaten 59 in the final. Despite losing in the final in 2015, they went on to lift the trophy again in 2016, making Alex the most successful captain in the history of the club.
The Earl Spencer, Patron of Northamptonshire CCC, noted in the programme of the event “Alex Wakely is one of the good guys of cricket – an elegant and highly gifted batsman, an approachable and intelligent captain, but above all a really nice bloke”.
Following the formal events of the evening many stayed on to reflect on Alex’s remarkable career and rekindle old friendships.
We would like to wish Alex all the best for the future.