Aussie Ashton Agar in line for Steelbacks debut against Lancashire Lightning
Australian all-rounder Ashton Agar is set to make his Northants Steelbacks debut in Friday night's Vitality Blast clash with Lancashire Lightning (start 6.30pm).
The left-arm spinner will replace Sikandar Raza in the Steelbacks side, with Raza missing the next four games as he skippers Zimbabwe in a five-match T20 International series against India in Harare.
Fourth-placed Steelbacks will be aiming for a win that will see them leapfrog second-placed Lightning, as they bid to maintain their push for quarter-final qualification.
Agar is a veteran of more than 200 T20 matches, including 49 internationals for Australia, and was in his country's squad for the recent T20 World Cup, playing twice as the Aussies went out at the Super Eights stage.
The 30-year-old has taken 173 wickets in T20 cricket with a career best of six for 30, as well as scoring close to 1,500 runs, with a highest score of 68.
The Steelbacks have named a 14-man squad for the Friday night showdown, and there is no place for either Justin Broad or Rob Keogh.
Emilio Gay, Michael Finan and Gus Miller are included, as is Ravi Bopara, who yesterday played for England Legends in the Championship Of Legends T20 clash against South Africa at Edgbaston.
Steelbacks will be going up against a Lancashire side that sit second in the North Group table, but will still be missing their trio of stars that played for England in the T20 World Cup.
Jos Buttler, Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone are all still being rested after their efforts in the Caribbean, which saw England reach the semi-finals before losing heavily to India.
Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley was also in the England squad, but he does return for the trip to Wantage Road.
Despite not including their key England trio, the Lightning squad is still a strong one as it includes the likes of skipper Keaton Jennings, Steven Croft, Hartley, Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood.
A big crowd is expected at the County Ground for what is a crucial match for both sides, so supporters are advised to arrive early.
Steelbacks squad v Lancashire Lightning: David Willey (c), Ashton Agar, George Bartlett, Ravi Bopara, Matthew Breetzke, Michael Finan, Emilio Gay, Freddie Heldreich, Lewis McManus, Gus Miller, Ben Sanderson, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Raphy Weatherall, Saif Zaib.
Lightning squad: Keaton Jennings (c), Tom Aspinwall, George Balderson, Jack Blatherwick, Josh Bohannon, Tom Bruce, Steven Croft, Chris Green, Tom Hartley, Matty Hurst, George Lavelle, Saqib Mahmood, Luke Wells, Luke Wood