Alex Wakely: Northants captain steps down with immediate effect

Alex Wakely captained Northamptonshire to victory in the T20 Blast in 2013 and 2016

Northamptonshire captain Alex Wakely has stepped down.

The 30-year-old was appointed captain of the one-day and T20 sides in 2013 before taking on the County Championship role for the 2015 season.

Adam Rossington will captain the side in the County Championship game at Durham next week, while Josh Cobb will lead the side in the T20 Blast.

"The pressures and everything that goes with captaincy were starting to tell," Wakely told BBC Radio Northampton.

"I was starting to carry things home and change my personality a little bit.

"I knew it was time to start again and give someone else the opportunity to lead the side.

"There has been a lot about mental well-being in sport and I hadn't given it much sympathy up until it started to affect me. Now I have handed over the reins I realise it was tough, I couldn't do the job to the best of my ability, I wasn't enjoying turning up and maybe that had an effect on the team.

"It feels like a weight is off my shoulders and I feel refreshed. It was a privilege to captain the club and something I loved."

The batsman led the side in 198 games in all formats and skippered them to T20 Blast success in 2013 and 2016.

They have drawn three and lost two of their five games in Division Two of the County Championship this summer.