Northants to play 'positive' and 'high octane' cricket under new coach Lehmann
Darren Lehmann is promising the Northants supporters their team will play 'high octane', 'aggressive' and 'positive cricket' under his leadership this summer.
New County head coach Lehmann knows what it takes to produce winning cricket teams, both as a player and as a boss.
The Aussie was a World Cup winning all-rounder, and then repeated the feat as his country's coach, while also winning the Ashes for good measure.
Away from the international scene, Lehmann has also guided Queensland to success in the Sheffield Shield, Brisbane Heat to the Big Bash League title and Deccan Chargers to Indian Premier League glory.
Nicknamed ‘Boof’ he is a winner who knows what he wants from his teams, but don't think about comparing his outlook to England's much-hyped 'Bazball' brand under coach Brendan ‘Baz’ McCullum.
No, at the County Ground, it’s going to be all about Dazball, or is that Boofball?
When asked about what Northants fans can expect from their team under him when it comes to style of play, Lehmann said: "There will be no Bazball... It doesn't win does it?
"We are going to be between old school, where you score at two an over, and Bazball, we will be somewhere inbetween that.
"We are going to play positively, because draws are no good to anyone and you want to see the four-day game played in the best possible way.
"Our one-day cricket will be really high octane, trying to be aggressive with the bat, but also defensive with the ball to try to make sure it is really hard for teams to get a total.
"We will be dynamic in the field, and everything will be positive. If we are in a bit of trouble, then we will still take the positive way, and in four-day cricket I am not bothered about bonus points, I am only worried about results.
"I understand we may have to play that way occasionally due to the weather, but we can't control that.
"We just want to be playing good cricket consistently, and the results will then look after themselves.”
Northants are in Stellenbosch in South Africa on a warm-weather training camp.
They are currently in the middle of a two-day friendly with Gloucestershire, and return to the UK on Saturday.
Lehmann is hoping to be able to utilise the outdoor nets at Wantage Road from next week, with the County due to play their first domestic friendly on March 25 when they travel to Edgbaston to take on Warwickshire.
They then host Durham UCCE in a three-day friendly that starts on Sunday.s March 30, ahead of the opening Rothesay County Championship Division Two clash with Kent at Wantage Road on April 4.