Northants closing in on the appointment of new assistant coach

Northants are closing in on the appointment of a new assistant coach to David Ripley.
Phil Rowe is leaving his post as Northants assistant coachPhil Rowe is leaving his post as Northants assistant coach
Phil Rowe is leaving his post as Northants assistant coach

After 15 years service to the club, Phil Rowe announced he was stepping down as Ripley's right-hand man at the end of last summer, and with his contract expiring at the end December, there has been a lot of interest in replacing him at the County Ground.

With Northants also searching for a skills coach, the club has received a total of 61 applications for the two roles.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Head coach Ripley has revealed that interviews for the posts are ongoing, and that he hopes the appointments will be finalised so the new men can start their roles in the new year.

Northants head coach David RipleyNorthants head coach David Ripley
Northants head coach David Ripley

"There are some interviews going on in the next week or so, and we really want those guys in post in January," said Ripley.

"It's very sleepy in cricket at the moment, and I am pretty sure we can tick over, and we still have Phil around, we did a session this week with the EPP (elite player programme) and Phil was in there, and David Sales (batting coach) was in there, so I think the young players are still getting a good service.

"Our professional players aren't overly active when it comes to cricket at the moment, as they are doing their physical work.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Those who need cricket will get cricket, but once we get to January, which is not that far away, and people are tuning into cricket, then having those guys in those posts will be important.

"There have been 61 people applied across the two posts, so it is going to be competitive.

"There is the assistant coach role and then there will be somebody else, a skill-based role, who complements that position."

The Northants players returned to the County Ground this week to begin their winter training schedules ahead of the 2020 season, which will start next April.

The County will be back in the top flight of English first-class cricket following their second place finish in the Specsavers County Championship Division Two in September.