IT’S been a season to remember both on and off the pitch at Wantage Road in 2019.
After a slow start to the year, the First Eleven went undefeated through their final nine games to secure second place on the Specsavers County Championship Division Two table and promotion to Division One for next season.
Adam Rossington took the reins as red-ball captain midway through the year and his attacking brand of cricket led the side to five wins. The keeper-batsman was also named the club’s Championship Player of the Year having topped the run-scoring with 787 runs at an average just shy of 50.
With the ball, Ben Sanderson took home a host of accolades for his brutal 60 wicket season. The opening bowler claimed the Supporters Club Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards, and was also named in the Greene King Team of the Year for his performances across all formats.
This season proved a break-out year for some of the young talent in the squad too, hopefully pointing to more success for Northamptonshire in years to come. Opening batsman Ricardo Vasconcelos was a bright spark at the top of the order, the young South African recorded 750 Championship runs in just 10 matches before injury cut his season short. Seventeen-year-old Emilio Gay was rewarded for his performances in the Second Eleven with his first professional contract, before making his first-class debut in the final Championship fixture of the season.
It was an equally great year for the club off the field too. 2019 saw record crowds flock to The County Ground for the Vitality Blast, despite two washed out home fixtures. Across the five non weather-affected home games, four were complete sell outs which generated some incredible atmospheres under lights.
As a club we’d like to thank everyone for their support this year. Whether you watched just one ball, were there for every ball, checked out the live stream or even just follow us on Twitter. Here’s to a great year and hopefully more great years to come.