Big-hitting Louis Kimber 'thrilled' to make Northants switch from Leicestershire

The 28-year-old batter has put pen to paper on a two-year deal on at Wantage Road after a five-summer stint at Grace Road.

Big-hitting Kimber, who also bowls off-spin, was part of the Foxes squad that won the Rothesay County Championship Division Two title, and also played for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred in August.

During his time at Leicestershire, Kimber scored more than 3,000 in all competitions and also claimed 26 wickets, and he hit the headlines in 2024 when he broke the record for the most runs scored in an over (43), and for hitting the most sixes in an innings (21) - surpassing the previous high mark held by Ben Stokes.

Both records were sent tumbling in a stunning innings of 243 from just 127 balls against Sussex in a Championship match.

Kimber is aiming to shine in all three formats for Northants, and is delighted to have made the switch from east midlands neighbours Leicestershire.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining Northamptonshire," said Kimber. "It’s a club with a proud history and a great group of people, and I’m really looking forward to contributing both on and off the field."

Kimber has admitted the lure of working with Northants head coach Darren Lehmann played a part in his decision to sign on at Wantage Road, as well as the Steelbacks making the Vitality Blast Finals Day last month.

“Having spoken with Darren, I’m very excited to work with him to take my game forward," said Kimber, who hails from Scunthorpe.

"After a fantastic Blast campaign, I’m looking forward to joining the group and being part of what’s ahead.”

Lehmann is happy to have landed Kimber's signature, and said: "Louis brings with him a huge amount of knowledge and experience around county cricket as well as boosting our batting firepower.

“He will no doubt attract people to Wantage Road with his explosive batting and I can’t wait to start working with him.”

The signing of Kimber is the third of the week by the County ahead of the 2026 campaign, following on from the announcement of the return of overseas pair Harry Conway and Yuzvendra Chahal.

In his career to date, Kimber has played in 41 first-class matches and has scored 1,571 runs at an average or 25.75, with a top score of 243 and one other century. He has also hit eight half-centuries.

In 31 List A games he has made 833 runs at 34.70, scoring one ton and six half-centuries, while in T20 cricket he has scored 811 runs at 19.78, with a strike-rate of 159.01. He has five Blast half-centuries in the bank.

In the 2025 Blast, Kimber played 13 times for the Foxes and hit 252 runs at 22.90 with a whopping strike-rate of 182.6. He also claimed seven wickets at 23.71.