Willey likely to miss Cardiff encounter

Alex Wakely’s side travel to Cardiff tomorrow (Friday) to face Glamorgan knowing that victory will guarantee them a spot in the knockout stages.

But they are likely to be without key all-rounders David Willey and Andrew Hall who have back and leg problems respectively and that will necessitate a rethink among the brains trust.

Head coach David Ripley said: “We’ve got a few options for various positions and we’ll have to think about which way we are going to go.

“It’s a shame that Andrew (Hall) isn’t fit becuase he would be a like for like replacement for David but there are others who could come into the reckoning.

“We went away from using four seamers at Taunton and played an extra batsman in Ben Duckett and we could do the same again.

“With Cameron (White), Matt (Spriegel) and James (Middlebrook) we’ve got plenty of bowling so that’s not too much of a worry.

“It’ll will probably be a case of making sure that we are making the runs that we need and going from there.”

With the club still involved in all three formats, Ripley admitted that he is unwilling to risk Willey with a crucial County Championship run-in on the horizon.

He added: “He’s been feeling his back for a little while and although it’s not really that serious, we’ve just got to be a bit careful.

“Both him and Andrew should be fine for the Gloucestershire game next Friday and that is what we’ll be looking at for the pair of them.”

As for tomorrow, Ripley expects the game to be played on a used surface which could influence the visitors’ tactics.

He said: “They’ve played on pitches that have spun quite a bit but they used a new pitch the other night against Worcestershire which was a bit flatter and we’ll probably be on the same one.

“it doesn’t really worry us too much as we’ve got most bases covered, we know what we’ve got to do and we’re looking forward to it.”

Northants from: Wakely, Levi, Coetzer, White, Crook, Duckett, Willey, Middlebrook, Spriegel, Murphy, Azharullah, Daggett, Keogh.