Championship promotion is the main motivation for all-rounder Keogh

The Northants all-rounder, who is currently in India as part of the batting group’s pre-season training camp, is determined to play his part in 'righting the wrongs' of last summer.

It was a certainly a disappointing 2023 for Northants.

They struggled throughout the summer and were relegated from the top flight of English red ball cricket.

They finished rock-bottom of division one after winning just two of their 14 matches played.

And to make matters worse, the Steelbacks also failed to reach the knockout stages of either the Vitality Blast or the Metro Bank One Day Cup.

Keogh was a player who could hold his head high though, as he was comfortably the County's leading run-scorer in first-class cricket last term.

He scored 780 runs at an average of 39, including two centuries, as well as claiming 14 wickets with his off-spin, but he will be keen to better those numbers in the forthcoming division two campaign.

As well as setting personal goals, Keogh says the focus this coming summer is to ensure the club is back dining at English cricket's top table in 2025 - with a little bit of white ball success thrown in.

"We should be looking to get back into division one, as I feel like we belong there,” Keogh told nccc.co.uk when asked about the hopes for the new campaign.

"We did show glimpses of what we can do at the back end of last summer, and the season before we showed everyone we belong in division one.

"So that is the goal I have, and I know most of the lads have that goal as well.

"Hopefully we can also get into a quarter-final or a finals day in the white ball stuff.

"It is an exciting year, and the lads are keen and hungry to get going, and to put right some of the wrongs from last year."

It has been a winter of some change at Wantage Road, with several established players heading for the exit door as the likes of Josh Cobb, Tom Taylor and Gareth Berg have left the club.

Coming the other way has been Somerset batter George Bartlett and Derbyshire and England fast bowler George Scrimshaw, while overseas signings on their way include Australian fast bowler Chris Tremain and Indian batters Karun Nair and Prithvi Shaw.

On the backroom staff front, bowling coach Chris Liddle and batting coach Ben Smith have also both left the club, along with the strength and conditioning coach.

Greg Smith has been appointed as the new batting coach and has been working with the players since January, while the new bowling coach has yet to be announced.

The club has identified who they want in the role, and that person has agreed to take the job, but the announcement has been delayed by visa issues – something head coach John Sadler is hoping will be sorted very shortly.

As for the players, they have been back at work since early November, with some opting to travel abroad to play cricket, and others staying in Northampton to prepare at the club's indoor school.

And Keogh says things have gone well.

"The winter has been good, and the boys have been working hard," said the 32-year-old.

"There has been a lot of fitness work and we are also getting to know Smudger (Greg Smith), the new batting coach.

"The boys are working hard and trying to improve their skills ahead of the summer."

The squad headed out for their pre-season tours this week, with the club deciding to send the batting and bowling units to different venues so they could enjoy specific training.

The batting group have gone to India, while the bowlers have jetted off to South Africa, with the intention to get 10 days of intensive work into both groups.

As we enter March, the new season is a little over a month away, and Keogh admits thoughts are already focused on that season opener against Sussex at Hove on Friday, April 5.

"This is always a funny time of year, around February or March," admitted Keogh.

"You know once you are back from the tour then it is go time, you are outside, it is freezing, and the season is around the corner.

"But everybody has their eyes on that first game and you just want to hit the ground running for that first week."

As well as looking forward to a new season on the pitch, Keogh is also going to have plenty on his plate away from the middle this summer, as he has been awarded a testimonial year.

Plenty of events are already planned, including a Northampton Sporting Legends Question of Sport night at the County Ground on Wednesday, March 20, with England Rugby World Cup winner Matt Dawson in the hosts' chair.

There will be plenty of other nights and days of events throughout the year as well, and Keogh, who has been with Northants since joining the academy as a teenager, says to have been awarded a testimonial is very special for him.

"It is an exciting year for me personally, and the testimonial is a great honour and not something I have taken lightly at all," he said.

"The names who have had testimonial years before me are legends of the club, so to be regarded in the same breath as those is a massive honour and something I am very proud of."