Huge boost for Northants as head coach Lehmann agrees to extra year at County Ground
Northants have received a massive boost with the news that head coach Darren Lehmann has signed a contract extension at the County Ground.
The Australian joined the club in February, and initially signed a two-year contract at Wantage Road, but he has now agreed to stay on for another 12 months and will be the head coach at Northants until at least the end of 2027.
A World Cup and Ashes winning coach in his time in charge of Australia, Lehmann has had a huge impact since arriving in Northampton, and he says he is delighted to commit to an extra year withthe County.
"I've absolutely loved my time so far and I'm really excited to have committed for an extra year,” said Lehmann.
"The club, fans and the sponsors have all been fantastic to me, so I had no problem agreeing to another year.
"The support has been unbelievable. We've been good in patches and not so good in others, but they're always behind us which I love."
Lehmann took over from John Sadler, who was relieved of his duties last September, and according to the club media release ‘has instilled instilled high standards on and off the field within the playing group and staff, with everyone around the club striving for success’.
On the field, Northants have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast and will take on Surrey at the Oval in September for a place at Finals Day, and belatedly begin their Metro Bank One Day Cup campaign on Friday against Yorkshire at Wantage Road.
The red-ball campaign hasn’t gone quite as well as Lehmann would have hoped, with Northants sitting second bottom of division two of the Rothesay County Championship, but in that format there have also been some encouraging signs.
County chief executive Ray Payne said: "Darren has had an exceptional impact at Northamptonshire from the moment he arrived.
"He's brought a really positive culture to the club, with players and staff all working as hard as they can to be a team that Northamptonshire fans can be proud of.
"We're so pleased that he's committed until at least the end of 2027, and that he believes in the direction we're heading in."