GOING UP! Match by match... the story of Northants' 2019 promotion season

It has been a long and not always hot summer for the Northants cricketers, but they have ended it on a huge high by clinching promotion from the Specsavers County Championship Division Two.
By Jeremy Casey
Published 26th Sep 2019, 14:33 GMT
Northants celebrate claiming a wicket in the draw with Lancashire in JulyNorthants celebrate claiming a wicket in the draw with Lancashire in July
Northants celebrate claiming a wicket in the draw with Lancashire in July

The red ball campaign began way back in the chill of early April with a draw against Middlesex at the County Ground, and ended in the rain at Bristol with another draw against Gloucestershire.That could have been a big frustration for both Northants and their hosts Gloucestershire as they were both in need of points to guarantee promotion.But with rivals Glamorgan's match at Durham being abandoned at 9am on the final day, that meant the Welsh county couldn't attain the points they needed and both the Northants and Gloucester players could start the celebrations.The match at Bristol was also abandoned before play began, which gave the players of both sides the chance to start the party early.It has been a brilliant achievement by Northants to get promoted, especially when you consider they didn't claim their first win of the summer until early July.Adam Rossington has done a superb as skipper since taking over from Alex Wakely mid-season, but he will be the first to admit it has been a team effort over the past six months.Here we run through all of Northants' 14 Championship games, which tell the tale of their promotion to the top division of English cricket for the first time since 2014.

Related topics:NorthantsAdam RossingtonGlamorganBristolMiddlesexGloucestershireGloucester