Steelbacks skipper David Willey out to entertain the County Ground supporters

David Willey is not going to be making any rash predictions about how the Steelbacks are going to get on under his leadership in the 2023 Vitality Blast.

But he does want his team to be great entertainers.

The new skipper will take charge of his first game in less than two weeks' time when the tournament gets underway for Northants with a home game against Worcestershire Rapids.

Willey is confident the team can do well, and he admits that on paper he will be leading a 'strong side', but he is not going to set any targets, whether that be a place in the last eight or a trip to Finals Day.

He is instead going to be focused on getting every individual player and the team performing at the very highest level they can, and is confident if they do that then the Steelbacks 'will get where they want to be'.

Willey was named as the club's T20 skipper this week, replacing Josh Cobb who had led the side since the summer of 2019, and he is relishing the task ahead.

England all-rounder will be taking over a side full of proven 20-over talent, including two-time winner Cobb, Australian batting sensation Chris Lynn, four-time Big Bash League winning pace bowler AJ Tye, as well as the likes of Ricard Vasconcelos, Saif Zaib, Rob Keogh, Tom Taylor and Ben Sanderson.

But asked if qualifying for the knockout stages is the minimum this year, Willey stated: "I don't like to say 'we are going to be at Finals Day, and we want to do this and we want to do that'.

"For me, my focus is very much on the way we want to play our cricket, the style of cricket we want to play, and our attitude and approach towards that.

"I do believe that if we're open as a group, and honest with ourselves and each other, then the results will take care of themselves and we will get where we want to be at the end of the year.

"We have got a strong side on paper, and there are some good young lads as well.

"Hopefully I can contribute to their improvement, particularly the younger guys, and we can play some good cricket and entertain some people here at the County Ground."

Taking on the captaincy won't be anything new to Willey, who skippered the Yorkshire T20 side for the past two years, but taking charge of his home town team is going to be an honour.

He started his career as a teenager at Northants, and went on to play a starring role in the club’s first T20 Finals Day success in 2013, hammering a half-century and claiming a hat-trick to wrap up the win over Surrey in the final, a performance that won him the man-of-the-match award.

"This club is very special to me, it has a special place in my heart," said the 33-year-old, whose dad Peter also played for Northants, as well as England, in the 1970s and early 80s.

"I grew up here as a kid in the groundsman's shed and on the outfield, and obviously played here for a long time before I moved.

"To come back here at this stage of my career, when I am probably playing my best cricket, is an exciting time for me and hopefully I can bring a lot to the club and the lads in the dressing room as well."

So what sort of captain is Willey?

Well, he is one that has learned from a lot of world-class talent over the past few years, as he has played regularly for England as well as in franchise cricket across the world, including the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash.

Just a matter of weeks ago he was shining in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, where his team-mates included a certain Virat Kohli, as well as former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis and Australian white ball star Glenn Maxwell.

And he wants to pass on that knowledge and experience to the squad at the County Ground.

"If I look back to my time at Northampton when I was here previously, I was quite young and immature," said Willey, who left the club to sign for Yorkshire at the end of the 2015 season.

"With my journey in my career, and the disappointments I have had along the way, such as the 2019 World Cup (Willey was left out of the squad at the last minute, with Jofra Archer taking his place), and then playing around the world and stuff I have learned a lot.

"I have grown up a lot as a cricketer and as a man.

"I have had a couple of years as captain at Yorkshire with decent success, and I am really looking forward to this opportunity and getting stuck into the cricket side of things here."

And he will have plenty of on-field support to turn to as well, with the likes of Cobb, Lynn, Tye and Sanderson all seasoned pros, and Willey will make sure he turns to them for advice when needed.

Indeed, he will do whatever he has to do to ensure the Steelbacks win cricket matches.

"There are some guys here who have played a lot of T20 cricket and it's always good to have those people around you," he said.

"It is not all about me, it is completely about the team.

"So I will be picking their brains and hopefully we can play some good cricket and make some good decisions on the field."