County cricket preview 2019: Northamptonshire
We look at Northamptonshire’s prospects for the coming season and see how a couple of high profile overseas signings will impact their squad.
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Captain: Alex Wakely
Last season: CC2: 9/10; RL50: 7/9 South Group; T20: 9/9 South Group
Transfers in: Ben Cotton (unattached), Blessing Muzarabani (Zim, Kolpak), Temba Bavuma (SA), Jason Holder (WI), Faheem Ashraf (Pak, T20)
Transfers out: Ben Duckett (Notts), Richard Gleeson (Lancs), Rory Kleinveldt (released), Steven Crook (retired)
VIEW NORTHAMPTONSHIRE TEAM PAGE
Stick on: Jason Holder
The West Indies captain is the No.1-ranked all-rounder in Test cricket
Jason Holder – the world’s No.1 all-rounder is only due to be available for two Championship and six One-Day Cup matches but he should kick-start Northants’ season after a dismal 2018 across the board.
Wildcard: Blessing Muzarabani
Muzarabani joins Northants on a Kolpak deal
Highlighted in Wisden Cricket Monthtly’s rundown of the best young players in the world last year, the 22-year-old Zimbabwean quick has quit international cricket and signed on a three-year Kolpak deal and will form a potent new-ball pairing with the prolific Ben Sanderson.
Prediction
CC2: 6/10; RL50: 6/9 North Group; T20: 7/9 North Group
After the loss of key personnel, the Wantage Road faithful will have been cheered by some enterprising overseas signings, including, for a good chunk of the Championship season, Temba Bavuma. With the departures of Duckett and Gleeson, the two-time T20 Blast winners appear to be a fading force in white-ball cricket.
VIEW NORTHAMPTONSHIRE TEAM PAGE
This county cricket 2019 preview was first published in issue 18 of Wisden Cricket Monthly. Subscribe here.
