Northants coach John Sadler delighted by return of ‘no-nonsense’ Chris Tremain

The Australian last week agreed a short-term deal at the County Ground for the start of next season, meaning he will be available for the first four matches of the LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two campaign.

The 32-year-old made a big impression at the beginning the 2023 campaign when he claimed 13 wickets at an average of 17.92 in the three matches he played, and Sadler is hoping he can repeat that trick next summer.

Tremain will have that extra match to boost his wickets tally, as his arrival in the country on the 30-day visa he is allowed has been timed carefully to ensure he plays as much as possible.

The pace bowler is pencilled in to play in matches at Sussex (April 5) and Leicestershire (April 29) as well as home clashes with Middlesex (April 12) and Glamorgan (April 19), and Sadler is very happy the right-arm seamer has agreed to return.

"Chris is only available for a set amount of time, and him coming back has been bubbling for a while," said Sadler.

"It was dependent on the fixtures and things like that, so we have timed it where he can get the first four games of the season in next year.

"He was brilliant for is last season, a great asset with the impact he has on and off the field.

"He is completely no nonsense, you just give him the ball and he will do the job, and that rubbed off on all of us, so it is great to have him back.

"He loved it here last season, and he has been quite open about how he enjoyed his time in Northampton with us, and how he has learnt as well."

Tremain, who played four one day internationals for Australia back in 2016, is currently enjoying a fantastic season with New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield.

The seamer has claimed 34 wickets at little more than 14 apiece, with the first-class competition now taking a break until March as the Big Bash League takes centre stage.

NSW are fourth in the table and still in the hunt to reach the final of the Sheffield Shield Final, which is scheduled for March 21.

But if they don't make the final two, his last action Down Under will be in New South Wales’ clash with Queensland on March 11.

"Chris is tearing it up at the moment back home in Australia," said Sadler.

"He is in fine form, and I spoke to him the other today to say congratulations and how delighted I am that he is signed up, and he had literally just walked off the field having got another six-for!

"He is a great guy, great to have around, he is a good thinker and a brilliant person to have around. He is class."

A bonus for Northants is that Tremain won't need any time to find his feet in the UK, and knows what to expect when he turns up at the County Ground in the English spring time.

"It is always nice when people come back because they know what they are coming into," said Sadler.

"I think playing four games in four weeks will be tough for him, as it will for everybody, but he knows what it is like, which certainly helps. But he is raring to go."