Lehmann keeping 'fingers crossed' overseas signing McSweeney will make Northants' season opener

​Australian Test batter McSweeney has signed a one-year all-format deal at Wantage Road and is due to make his debut in the four-day opener against Lancashire at the County Ground on Friday, April 3.

But McSweeney has the small matter of captaining the South Australia side taking on Victoria in the Sheffield Shield Final next week

That match starts next Thursday (March 26), and is scheduled to be a five-day encounter, with South Australia hoping to retain the title they won last year.

But his domestic commitments do mean McSweeney will be cutting it fine to be in the UK and ready to play a week later.

Asked about the 27-year-old’s chances of playing against Jimmy Anderson’s Lancashire, Lehmann told BBC Northampton: “Well, fingers crossed.

"Firstly we wish Nathan the best with South Australia being my home state, and hopefully he does really well and has the chance to win back-to-back titles.

“For us it means just waiting and seeing what time he is around.

"If he got here the day before it might be a bit hard to play the first game, but we’ll just be open and honest with our fans and we’ll do the best we can to update everybody.

“He’s desperate to get here for the first game, it’s just whether they play a long five-day game.

"He then only gets here the night before, but we’ll weigh that up and make a good choice on Nathan because he’s here for the whole year so it’s pretty important we get him fresh and ready to go.”

McSweeney has signed a one-year all-format deal with Northants, and if he doesn’t make it back in time to play Lancashire, he will make his debut a week later when the County travel to Canterbury to play Kent on April 10.

The County’s other early-season overseas signing, Harry Conway, will be available to take on the Red Rose.

The 33-year-old, who will play in Northants’ opening six red ball matches, is currently in South Africa with the rest of the County squad.