Northants squad head to South Africa for warm-weather training camp

With the start of the new season less than a month away, the squad will travel in two different groups, with the first set of players having already travelled on Tuesday (March 3).

Senior assistant coach Glenn Chapple and batting coach Greg Smith have made that trip along with James Sales, Dom Leech, Lewis McManus, Gus Miller, Tiaan Louw, Justin Broad, Raphy Weatherall and George Scrimshaw.

They will spend the next week training alongside the Western Province squad, who are coached by former Northants all-rounder and bowling coach Rory Kleinveldt.

Head coach Darren Lehmann will then head out with the rest of the squad next week (March 10).

The players on that trip are skipper Luke Procter, Aadi Sharma, George Bartlett, Saif Zaib, Rob Keogh, Ben Sanderson, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Liam Guthrie, Arush Buchake, Stuart van der Merwe, new-signing Louis Kimber, Calvin Harrison and Australian import Harry Conway.

Once the whiole squad is together, as well as training days in the sunshine, Northants will play two T20 matches against Warwickshire, a two-day game against Gloucestershire as well as an internal 50-over encounter.

The squad will return to the UK on March 21, ahead of the pre-season three-day match against Cardiff University at the County Ground that starts on Saturday, March 28.

The County Championship season starts with a four-day game against Lancashire at Wantage Road on April 3.

Lehmann, who returned to Northampton from Australia last week, believes getting the players out and working on the grass is crucial.

“Getting a number of days outdoors is so important at this time in the year," said the head coach.

"We don’t want to put any more stress onto the groundstaff and we want to let them produce a world class facility at Wantage Road ready for the start of the season.

“When we’re away, the bowlers get used to their feet hitting the ground again, the batters get to experience playing on different surfaces and we get to spend some nice time together as a team.”

Meanwhile, Northants all-rounder Calvin Harrison arrived safely back in the UK from Abu Dhabi with the rest of the England Lions squad on Tuesday.

With the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the decision was made to cancel the final three matches of the 50-over series against Pakistan A, with the squad, coached by former England skipper Andrew Flintoff, returning home on a commercial flight.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) issued a statement that read: "We are grateful to all those who provided assistance and advice while the squad were in Abu Dhabi, and who helped ensure their safe return.

"Our thoughts are with all those currently still in the Gulf who are seeking to return to the UK, and we hope they are able to get home soon."

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said the decision to call off the series with England was 'mutually agreed'.

"The safety, security and wellbeing of the players and support staff remain the highest priority for the PCB," said the PCB.

"The PCB remains in constant contact with the team management and players to ensure appropriate measures are in place to bring team back to Pakistan."