Northamptonshire, the reluctant red-ballers, prepare for action

BOB WILLIS TROPHY PREVIEW: Reports suggested the county were the least keen of the 18 when it came to first-class cricket being played post-lockdown, but here they are...

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Ins: Gareth Berg (Hampshire), Brandon Glover, Paul Stirling, Jack White

Outs: None

Fixture list: August 1 - Warwickshire (a), August 8 - Somerset (h), August 15 - Worcestershire (h), August 22 - Glamorgan (h), September 6 - Gloucestershire (a)

Remind me what happened last year?

Northants pulled off the classic late sprint to promotion, in spite of a squad which took on the shape of a patchwork quilt, so many times did they dip into the loan market. At the halfway point of the Division Two campaign in late June, Northants were nursing a record of five draws and two defeats – both thrashings by Lancashire and Glamorgan.

Then, away at Hove, Northants recovered from 99 for 6 to post 273, before Ben Sanderson and Brett Hutton blew Sussex away for 106 and 105. It was part of a nine-game unbeaten run, and the pivotal result in the entire promotion race.

Northants had already been through a change of leadership by that point: Alex Wakely resigned the captaincy after four years that gradually took its toll on his mental wellbeing – not least when he hit his head on a beam at home overnight during a game and was substituted out on concussion protocol.

Wakely handed over to Adam Rossington, and it seemed to energise the wicketkeeper, who contributed a string of ypically belligerent fifties and kept wicket better than ever as the summer reached its close.

What’s happened over the winter?

Mercifully the club – which, before Covid-19, was on a firmer financial footing than for some time – bolstered the backroom staff in order to stay competitive in Division One. In have come two energetic assistant coaches, John Sadler and Chris Liddle, effectively replacing the long-serving and respected assistant coach Phil Rowe.

Initially the thought was they would take on added responsibility when David Ripley headed off to London Spirit in The Hundred. That hook-up with Shane Warne will have to wait.

The club have cancelled the overseas deals of Faheem Ashraf, who was due to have played the first half of the season, and West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard. They have, though, kept Paul Stirling back for the T20 Blast in September.

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Who’s arrived and who’s left?

The newest of Northants’ three South Africans in possession of a handy EU passport – Ricardo Vasconcelos (Portugal) and Gareth Berg (Italy) the others – is Brandon Glover. He sealed a county deal after taking 16 wickets in eight matches for the Netherlands in their successful T20 World Cup Qualifier. At just 22, and possibly still prone to injury, he could be especially valuable in the short forms. Berg, now 39, has converted his loan spell from last year into a one-year deal at his third county.

A big few months are in store for Rob Newton, 30, who will be looking for a new county after this season, and Blessing Muzarabani, who will lose his Kolpak status after this summer and will need to shake off his injury concerns if he is to save the third year of his contract as a fully-fledged overseas player in 2021.

Who will be the key men in 2020?

Sanderson and Hutton carried the attack in 2019 and though it seems they will not get much help from the pitches in August, they will probably be bowling the bulk of the overs and the fielders will be rubbing that red ball furiously to try to get it to go for them.

What can we expect from this team this season?

A good question. Northants have one of the smallest squads in the county game and would likely have looked to the loan market again in a full season.

With reports suggesting Northants were the club with most reservations about retaining a red-ball element to the truncated season, watching how they approach the Bob Willis Trophy on and off the field will be fascinating. The players and coaches will need little motivation, though, with a Division One campaign on the horizon in 2021.

With the red-ball schedule now pushed into high summer, the glaring weakness in the spin department could be exposed. Spin has been threadbare at Northampton for some years now.

It seems that Rob Keogh – 2019 bowling average: 61 – will be thrown on to let the seamers rest and speed Northants away from over-rate sanctions, but the conditions may force them to partner him with left-arm spinner Saif Zaib.

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