Wholehearted Willey will need to be looked after

That is the view of Steelbacks skipper Alex Wakely who believes the all-rounder’s all-action style means he needs to be looked after.

He is one of a few players in the Northamptonshire camp who has played with a slight niggle during this hectic stage of the season.

But Wakely thinks, because of Willey’s build and approach, it would be difficult to keep him out of the physio’s room for long.

“I think because of the way he plays his cricket means he is always going to put himself about,” Wakely said.

“He’s a wholehearted cricket and he’s a big lad as well – he’s nearly 100kgs.

“He runs himself from boundary to boundary, bowls four overs and run will about like an idiot when he bats.

“The grounds are also rock hard at the moment which doesn’t help when you are diving around.

“We are going to have to manage him but we’ve had a couple of days rest, have back-to-back games and then nearly a week off.

“We’ll keep practise to a minimum and take the chance to get a few people strapped up and get some recovery time.

“It’s difficult at the moment.

“At the start of the season you think you might be pushing in one competition which will give you the chance to rest a few people.

“But we are competing in all three and want to put out our very best XI every time.

“Rotation will have to come in a little bit more – probably in the Championship where we can give people five days rest – but we have got some very talented players to come in.

“When you look at players like Stephen Peters, Rob Newton, Olly Stone, Ben Duckett, Andrew Hall who are not playing at the moment it shows we have got a pretty good squad to pick from.”

The Steelbacks play twice this weekend with an away game against Warwickshire tomorrow followed by a clash with Worcestershire on Sunday.