MATCH PREVIEW: Northamptonshire v Lancashire
Read our first match preview of the 2026 season
Northamptonshire v Lancashire
Rothesay County Championship, Division Two
Friday April 3 - Monday April 6, 2026, 11am
Wantage Road
And we’re back!
Promotion is on the agenda as Lancashire begin the new season in the Midlands, against a county captained by one of their own in Luke Procter, a Championship winner with the Red Rose back in 2011.
Steven Croft begins his full-time reign as head coach, Sir James Anderson the same as captain. They will have to do without overseas signing Marcus Harris, who will be a week late due to his involvement in the Sheffield Shield final.
Keaton Jennings is also sidelined for the start of the season because of injury.
Croft has made no bones about it. Promotion back to Division One is the main aim. Make no mistake about it, not the sole aim. He wants success across the board in limited overs cricket as well. But four-day cricket is the priority for the ex-all-rounder and his players.
While Lancashire finished fifth in Division Two last season, winning three of their 14 games, Northamptonshire finished seventh with two wins to their name.
Although they reached Finals Day in the Vitality Blast, it wasn’t the first campaign in charge their Australian head coach Darren Lehmann was hoping for.
This match, starting on April 3, will be the earliest County Championship match in Lancashire’s history. It beats last year’s opener against Middlesex at Lord’s by a day.
The ECB, meanwhile, have confirmed a trial for substitutions in this season’s Championship, which allows replacement players for injury, illness and significant life events such as child birth or family deaths.
Opposition
Northamptonshire have made a number of signings, be it batter Louis Kimber from Leicestershire or all-rounder Calvin Harrison from Nottinghamshire. They have also added Aussie batter Nathan McSweeney as an overseas and seam-bowling compatriot Harry Conway for the first couple of months.
But, from a Lancashire perspective, perhaps the most interesting recruit is that of a certain Glen Chapple as assistant coach to Darren Lehmann.
The former Red Rose captain and coach - a Lancashire legend, no doubt - Chapple spent the second half of last season in the role but was appointed permanently in late October.
"Glen made an instant impact around the group, so we're delighted to have him back again,” said Lehmann.
Conway will start the season, but whether McSweeney does is another matter given he has just been involved in the Sheffield Shield final for South Australia - against Marcus Harris and Victoria.
Conway took 20 wickets in four matches through May last year, while McSweeney played three Tests for the Aussies in late 2024 and has been a prolific run-scorer at state level.
Luke Procter takes charge of the county in red-ball cricket for a fourth season. McSweeney will be his vice.
Opposition player to watch
Saif Zaib was the leading run-scorer in Division Two last year with 1,425 runs. That 14-match haul included six hundreds with a best of 196 not out.
The 27-year-old left-hander, who also bowls handy slow left-armers, was actually the leading Championship run-scorer across either division.
It was therefore understandable that coach Darren Lehmann was left bewildered as to why his charge hadn’t been picked for England Lions this winter.
He took to social media platform X to question: “Can someone please tell me why Saif Zaib has not been picked?”
A good season-opener this weekend could see Zaib reach 4,000 career first-class runs. He currently sits on 3,884 from 74 appearances.
Previous meeting
Northamptonshire had the better of last season’s fixtures, dominating a Championship draw at Emirates Old Trafford in mid-April before winning the return clash at Wantage Road almost a month later.
The clash in the Midlands was one which saw neither side post a total of 300 plus.
Northamptonshire, having elected to bat, were bowled out for 238 first time around, with George Balderson claiming four wickets. In reply, a Marcus Harris century - 121 to be precise - gave the Red Rose a slender lead with a 276 total.
In their second innings, Northamptonshire all but matched that with 273 all out, recovering from 189-8 thanks to 65 from new-ball seamer Ben Sanderson.
It was a decisive innings and set the visitors a total of 236 to win on day three.
Unfortunately, Lancashire were whittled out for 165 inside a couple of sessions, with the leg-spinner Calvin Harrison claiming four wickets. Harrison was on loan from Nottinghamshire last year but - as aforementioned - has since signed permanently ahead of this.
What they said
Sir James Anderson is relishing Friday’s season opener at Northamptonshire and wants to get the ball rolling on a fast start to the summer at the first available opportunity.
“We’re excited to get going,” he said. “It feels like it's been a long winter in the indoor school. A week away in Spain this last week, and the lads are itching to get going.
“Something we’ve talked a lot about over the winter is starting the season well.
“Our goal is to get promotion, and last year we left ourselves way too much to do at the back end of the year.
“We were in almost an impossible position where we had to win every game towards the back end of the year. You don't want to leave yourself that much of a challenge.
“So, starting this first six or seven weeks well is crucial, and we're hopeful we can do that.”
How’s Stat!
Sir James Anderson has a first-class strike rate of 45.7 for Lancashire, only bettered post world war 2 by Brian Statham with 41.9 (of bowlers who have taken 250+ wickets).
Anderson is 11th on the overall list, Statham fifth. Nineteenth century bowler Bill McIntyre - 441 wickets at a strike-rate of 33.9 - leads the way.
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