Head coach Sadler believes competition for places is hotting up at Northants

​Northants have lost the services of key all-rounder Tom Taylor to Worcestershire, while fringe players Gareth Berg, Simon Kerrigan, Graeme White, Hassan Azad and Harry Gouldstone also all left the club.

There was also the recent departure of Ollie Sale, who had yet to play for the County, as he retired from professional cricket due to injury issues, while there is as yet no resolution to the Josh Cobb situation, with the batter having not played for the first team since early June.

Cobb is currently under contract until the end of the 2024 campaign.

There have been arrivals too though, with the signings of batter George Bartlett from Somerset and fast bowler George Scrimshaw from Derbyshire freshening up the squad, and Sadler says both players have settled in well since reporting for pre-season in November.

Australian pace bowler Chris Tremain has been recruited for the first four County Championship matches of the 2024 season, while prolific Indian batter Prithvi Shaw will spend the second half of the summer at Wantage Road.

All-rounder Justin Broad is also starting his first full season as a Northants player after signing a contract midway through 2023, and the head coach is currently feeling in confident mood.

"There were times last season where we were pretty much down to the bare bones of who we could pick," said Sadler.

"And even though everybody deserves their place through skill, and that's why they are pro cricketers, there were times when people might not have played because their form was down.

"But there wasn't that pressure from underneath, there weren't lads in the second team banging out hundreds or taking wickets.

"Whereas if you look at the squad now, anybody who tries to pick a team for the first game in any format is going to find it tough.

"There are going to be some very good players being left out, and there are going to be some very disappointed people because you can't play everybody.

"We have signed the Georges, and straight away the competition for places within is a lot stronger.

"George Scrimshaw and George Bartlett have both had great starts in pre-season, they have really gone about their business, and you can tell they are both senior players ready to go, and ready to do well.

"They will have to fight for their place like everybody else, but the competition for places is very strong which is how we want it to be."

Northants will be aiming to challenge at the top end of the LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two table, and key to that will be the seam attack of Ben Sanderson, Jack White, Scrimshaw and, initially, Tremain, along with the likes of James Sales and skipper Luke Procter.

The County start with seven four-day games in eight weeks, and Sadler said: "It is going to be tough, and we will have to monitor the workloads of Jack White, Sando and Proccy as well, as he is a top bowler and we need him firing.

"So it is clear we will have to keep a close eye on their workloads, which is why we need a squad."