Northamptonshire 2026 County Championship Full Season Preview
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
by Ronan Alexander & The Cricket Draft
With the cricket season fast approaching, now is the time to ensure you and your club are covered! Don’t risk the season with under insurance & outdated valuations; contact ASI, the specialist sports broker and PCA partner, to get your club or your own policy sorted before the first ball is bowled.
County Championship Values for 2026
Banker, Wildcard, Young Gun & England Watch
Banker: Luke Proctor (ALR) £6.9m
A high-match-involvement player who can open the batting and bowling, giving lots of opportunity for points. He averaged 41 with the bat and grabbed 18 wickets — and perhaps deserved more for his economical seam bowling. He clocked up 143.42 points per game last summer and provides a reliable option. Valued at £6.9m in 2025, he provides a bit of flexibility with the budget.
Wildcard: Justin Broad (ALR) £6.2m
Someone who really went under the radar in 2025. Valued at just £5.2m, he featured in 11 of Northants’ 14 matches and made 1,861 points, coming in at 169.18 per game. He added 646 runs, took 27 wickets, and grabbed 22 catches, providing a real differential option by being in only 4.6% of teams. He will bat within the middle order and be a change-seam bowler; if his value remains relatively cheap for 2026, he could be a great wildcard option. The 25-year-old German international currently averages 28 with the bat and 34 with the ball in first-class cricket, last year being his best summer, which he’ll look to kick on from.
Young Gun: Raphael Weatherall (BWL) £5.0m
Valued at only £4.2m in 2025, he kicked off the campaign in fine fashion, grabbing 8 wickets in two matches and averaging 111.5 points per game before injury brought a premature end to his campaign. The 21-year-old will look to be back to full fitness this summer and pick up where he left off by breaking back into the side and holding down a regular spot. He could be an excellent cheap option should he find those heights of early 2025.
England Watch: Saif Zaib (ALR) £7.2m
The highest point-scorer last summer with 2,593, impressing with both bat and ball. He scored six centuries, more than anyone in county cricket, and scored the most runs in 2025 with 1,425 at an average of 64.77, also passing 50 seven times. He collected 13 wickets at an average of 25.54 with his more-than-useful left-arm spin. He has also been exceptional in white-ball cricket; it is quite incredible that he hasn’t already been selected within the England setup. He simply cannot be ignored for much longer.
Potential Starting XI for GW 1
2025 Review
Darren Lehmann’s side ended 2025 second from bottom, so they will be looking for an improvement this summer, however there were plenty of positives to build on ahead of 2026. Calvin Harrison was a fantastic addition, and they will be delighted he is back on a permanent basis, while Saif Zaib’s form surely cannot be ignored for much longer as he strives for international recognition. Batting first at home saw runs flow, with an average first-innings score of 375, so Northants batters could be worth looking at, especially when playing at the County Ground. Northants picked up both of their wins on home soil last term, so they will have to improve on last year’s winless away record if they are to progress further up the table.
2025 Stat Attack
Saif Zaib being the top point scorer, run scorer and century maker is the key standout stat from 2025 as he pushes towards international recognition that can’t be far away now.
Calvin Harrison’s 2199 points were the third highest for a bowler, only Kyle Abbott and Tom Taylor managed more, and Harrison was only valued at £5.8m providing an excellent budget option.
His 487 runs were the most made by a bowler last summer as he averaged 32 with the bat whilst collecting 40 wickets (8th most). He also had the most catches for a bowler (20), with the next highest being only 10.
Justin Broad had the most catches for an all-rounder (22). He also had the 8th most points per game for an all-rounder with more than 1,000 points whilst coming in at a price of just £5.2m.
Lewis McManus took 50 catches behind the stumps, which was the third highest of the 2025 season.
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Player Ins & Outs
After a terrific campaign while on loan last summer, Calvin Harrison has made his move permanent ahead of the 2026 season. He bagged a whopping 2,199 points, including 487 runs, 40 wickets, and 20 catches. Louis Kimber comes into the squad ready to add his firepower across all formats.
Wrist-spinner Freddie Heldreich, who mainly featured in white-ball cricket, has departed the club. After featuring four times in 2025, Australian seamer Harry Conway is back for the first seven matches of the 2026 campaign, looking to lead the seam attack. He’ll be joined by fellow countryman Nathan McSweeney, who will slot into the top order; McSweeney will be looking to rediscover the form that earned him a spot in the Test team.
Yuzvendra Chahal grabbed 12 wickets in just three matches last year and will be back for more towards the end of the campaign. Chris Lynn also rejoins for the Blast in what is otherwise a settled side building on the momentum of last season.
2026 Fixtures
Northants kick off their season with three home matches in their first four fixtures, as Lancashire, Middlesex, and Worcestershire visit the County Ground, with a trip to Kent sandwiched in between during Gameweek 2.
Back-to-back matches against last year’s fellow strugglers, Gloucestershire, take place in GW7 and GW9. Two tricky away fixtures follow against Durham and Lancashire before the side hosts Kent. This middle part of the season looks like it could well define where they finish.
September concludes the season with home games against Durham and Derbyshire, and a trip to Worcestershire, before heading to Lord’s for the final gameweek of the season.
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