Steelbacks star Ravi Bopara happy to call the County Ground home

And the former Essex and England all-rounder has revealed it was a chat with David Willey while the pair were playing in the IL T20 in the United Arab Emirates in February that set the wheels in motion for him to make the County Ground his latest home.

The much-travelled Bopara was a team-mate of Willey's, with both playing for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, and it was then the Steelbacks skipper sowed the seeds for Bopara to sign on at Wantage Road in March.

Bopara, a successful hired gun in white-ball cricket for many years, having played in leagues all around the world, was for the first time heading into the English summer without a county and without a contract to play in the Vitality Blast.

Having left Sussex Sharks at the end of the 2023 campaign, Bopara admits he was unsure as to whether or not he wanted to take on the domestic T20 competition again.

But following the initial approach and a little encouragement from Steelbacks skipper Willey, and then a face-to-face meeting with head coach John Sadler, he decided it was Northants for him in 2024 - and he admits he couldn't be happier with that decision.

The club and Steelbacks supporters are pretty pleased too.

He made an instant impact on his debut, producing a match-winning performance with the bat to see off Derbyshire Falcons off the final ball of the season opener last Thursday, and then went on to play his role in the demolition of Notts Outlaws 24 hours later.

And although Sunday's clash with Yorkshire Vikings saw the Steelbacks' winning start to the North Group campaign come to an end with a 29-run defeat, Bopara was again the standout home performer, claiming four wickets and then hitting a quickfire 35 from 21 balls.

In his three matches to date, he has hit 110 runs (and averages 110 too) at a strike rate just shy of 145, and has also claimed five wickets for 82, with a very good economy rate of 6.83.

He has already shown his quality and composure under pressure in a Northants shirt, which is something that undoubtedly comes with having played 465 T20 matches in a career that is now in its 22nd year!

His unbeaten half-century in the win over Derbyshire was the 47th of his T20 career, and he now has now scored 9,216 runs in T20 cricket alone.

He has also taken his wicket tally in T20s to 282… impressive numbers.

It is undeniable that his move to Northampton has proved to be a win-win for all concerned so far, so exactly how did it come about?

"There were a few counties I was speaking to and were interested, but there were a few I just didn't want to go to," said the Londoner, who turned 39 at the beginning of May.

"They were too far up north, I didn't want to go up to Durham, it's too far, and then Dave spoke to me in the ILT20. He said 'what about coming to Northampton?'

"I thought, ‘actually that's not far from London’ and it would be about whether the club is interested or not, and Dave said 'they will be interested'.

"He said 'let me have a word', and then he came back to me, and I spoke to my agent, I spoke to a couple of other people and said to them 'what do you think about Northants? Shall I make that move?'.

"So I was a little reluctant at first, in that I was thinking ‘do I want to continue playing Blast cricket or do something else with that time?’.

"But in the end there was an urge to carry on playing Blast cricket, as I have a lot more to achieve.

"So I thought, ‘Northants are the ones that want me’, and then Sads came down to meet me in Essex.

"He drove all the way down there which I thought was nice, and I thought 'do you know what, they are the guys and I am going to go with them'.

"It was never about the money, I was never saying 'I want more money’, or going back to another club and saying 'they are offering me this', I didn't care.

"It was either, I was going to play cricket or I wasn't, and Northants were the most welcoming, it just felt right, and with Dave being there as well."

Bopara’s Steelbacks debut on Thursday night was the first North Group match of his career, having played solely in the South section for both Essex and Sussex, who he skippered in 2022 and 2023.

He admits Northants as a club was not one he knew very much about prior to joining, but he has quickly found his feet.

"I don't know a lot about the club, other than I played a lot of my cricket against Northampton in my younger days,” said Bopara.

"That was in 50-over cricket and four-day cricket, but never in T20.

"So everything here is new to me, but there is a great vibe here.

"There is a great bunch of lads and I have loved every minute so far, I have felt so welcome."

Bopara has signed a one-year deal to play for Northants this summer, although he did admit he did cheekily try for another 12 months…

"I did try to sign for two years," he revealed.

"But they said no, you're a bit of an old git! Let's see if you can survive the season first'."

Well, he is certainly doing a lot more than surviving at the moment, and if he continues to prosper, then who knows?

Maybe we will see Bopara return in the claret and navy of the Steelbacks in 2025...