| David Capel Interview - Part 3
You played under many captains at Northamptonshire - Geoff Cook, Nick Cook, Curran, Lamb, Bailey, Larkins and Fordham - who did you most enjoy playing for and why did you never captain the county? Wayne Larkins was a great friend. We had a common view on how cricket should be played and I learnt a lot from him. I loved playing under Geoff Cook, too; he was sensible and guided with great knowledge, he gave me great confidence and I succeeded under him. Together Geoff and Wayne were the perfect combination. I would have loved to captain Northamptonshire, looking back. I was told the reason that I was not given the captaincy [for the 1996 season] was because of my heavy workload as an all-rounder. I didn’t challenge that at the time but looking back it wasn’t right; there have been all-rounders such as Kapil Dev and Imran Khan who have successfully captained their sides. The captaincy was given to Rob Bailey instead and I wasn’t challenged as a cricketer. I would have been a proud captain of Northamptonshire and being captain would have got the best out of me in 1996. I feel that the young cricketers at the county would have got a lot from me and I would have loved to do it. I often wonder if I would have brought success to the county, it is still a regret that I never had the chance.
Which English ground did you most enjoy playing at and why? I loved every ground where I had success; I loved Edgbaston because of the battles we had there with Warwickshire; I loved The Oval, Headingley and Lords, the big grounds. I also enjoyed Maidstone; it was a lovely ground and I had success there. Hove was the same. I was never a snob when it came to grounds.
What do you consider to be your biggest regret from your career? The fact that I never got to captain Northamptonshire is a regret. Also I could have perhaps been a little bit less intense at times as well, but I think it was part of my make up and I wouldn’t have been the same player without. I was lucky to play in a great era for the game; I enjoyed my time off the field with both my team mates and opponents. As far as other regrets go, I would have like to have played more games for England and been more successful with them. Also, I threw away a lot of hundreds [Capel made it to his half century 88 times in first class cricket, but only converted 16 of these to centuries].
Do you think you would get into today’s England test side? I doubt it very much, Flintoff is a bloody fine bowler. I would love to have played in such a positive and confident team, I love their style and feel that my style would compliment it, not that I would say I would get in the team.
How do you think you would have coped with Twenty20 cricket and do you think it is good for the game at both county and international level? I think I would have coped well, I would have done well at the batting but my bowling may have got slogged - just like everyone else. Yes I would have enjoyed the batting and the Twenty20 experience overall. I feel that Twenty20 is a very good advert for the game as long as players can differentiate between the different skills needed for the different forms of the game. It is a worry that it is the only type of cricket schoolboys will play though.
You are the Academy Director at Northamptonshire. What does the job involve and what player within your Academy would you tip for the top? It’s a very involved role; as well as being the Academy Director, I coach the 2nd XI. It’s really enjoyable and gives me the chance to influence and really make a difference. I like letting the youngsters think freely and let them take the opportunities I had as a young cricketer and help them come through to first class cricket. As far as tipping a youngster to come through from the academy, I would say there are 2 or 3 that I have really big hopes for, but I wouldn’t want to name them…
What would you change in today’s game? I would change the selfish attitude towards batting in 4 day cricket; players are often happy to score runs for themselves rather than being adventurous and batting to win. I’d like to see more attacking intent, too, from bowlers and a willingness to succeed in the skills of bowling such as moving the ball laterally. I’d like to see people on the county circuit keep to the spirit of the game, competing hard on the pitch, then socialising with each other off it.
Who do you think will win the Ashes this year? If England carry on the way they have been doing and Australian continue to wobble I have to say that England have a great chance…
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Steven | 
27-10-2005, 08:48 PM
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