Lehmann wants more ruthlessness from Northants

Head coach Darren Lehmann believes a stronger squad will lead to greater consistency from Northamptonshire in the 2026 county season.

The club reached Finals Day in last summer's T20 Blast, but only won two of their 14 games in the County Championship and were bottom of their group in the 50-over One-Day Cup.

They have brought in opening batter Nathan McSweeney, who played three Tests for Australia at the end of 2024, for all formats, and all-rounder Louis Kimber.

And Calvin Harrison, Chris Lynn, Yuzvendra Chahal and Harry Conway will all return to Wantage Road for all or part of the season.

"They're fit and ready to go, now it's about fine-tuning the playing style - we want to still be that really entertaining side but we also want to be ruthless when we get in front in the game," Lehmann told BBC Radio Northampton.

"We were a little bit inconsistent last year and that comes from maybe not having enough depth. When you're a small county you've got to have some depth and we've got that [this year]."

Lehmann said being in charge of a community club was one of the main reasons he is so passionate about the job, which he took up before the start of last season.

"Fans just want their team to play as well as they possibly can each and every day. They accept sometimes it doesn't go their way, but as long as you're trying, that's all they want," the former Australia batter said.

"We punch above our weight, and I'm pretty happy with that."

Some fans may feel Lynn owes them one after smashing 108 not out off 51 balls for Hampshire against Northamptonshire in the 2025 Blast semi-final, thereby ending their hopes of lifting the trophy for the third time.

"We wanted [Matthew] Breetzke to continue playing [for us] because he's a superstar of the game, but the next best thing is Chris Lynn," Lehmann added.

"The grounds are too small for Lynn so if he gets going it will be fantastic. He's keen as mustard which is great - he's coming towards the end of his career, we get that, but we see someone who's got the power [to capitalise] on a small ground, and English grounds are traditionally smaller than Australian ones."

Northamptonshire start the season on 3 April with a home game against Sir James Anderson's Lancashire in Championship Division Two.