Northamptonshire head to Gloucestershire for the final game of the Rothesay County Championship before the start of the Vitality Blast.

Last week, Northamptonshire fell to defeat against Derbyshire with just 11 overs left in the final day, despite some late resistance from George Bartlett, who it an unbeaten 65.

Results elsewhere have meant that the Division Two table has become very tight, with just eight points separating second and sixth. Northamptonshire currently sit third with 66 points and a win could push them up to second before the break for T20 cricket.

Gloucestershire haven’t had the best of starts to the season and have lost four out of their five games. However, their only win of the season did come in convincing fashion, as they beat Derbyshire by 10 wickets at the Seat Unique Stadium.

After missing the last couple of weeks due to personal reasons, Liam Guthrie returns to the squad. Raphy Weatherall is still absent due to his university exams, while Justin Broad misses out as the Club continue to monitor his back injury.

Play will get underway at 11am with lunch at 1pm and tea scheduled for 3:40pm. There are 96 overs scheduled for each day. All four days of the fixture will be live streamed on Gloucestershire’s YouTube channel.

Northamptonshire squad to face Gloucestershire:

Luke Procter (c), George Bartlett, Harry Conway, Liam Guthrie, Calvin Harrison, Louis Kimber, Lewis McManus (wk), Nathan McSweeney, James Sales, Ben Sanderson, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Saif Zaib

We asked Head Coach Darren Lehmann about his reflections from the Derbyshire game, Calvin Harrison’s batting performances, and the Division Two table.

Opponent preview:

Gloucestershire

Previewed by Richard Latham, ECB Reporters Network, supported by Rothesay

Captain: Cameron Bancroft

Head Coach: Mark Alleyne

2025 finish: 6th

2025 highest run-scorer: James Bracey (1,010)

2025 highest wicket-taker: Ajeet Singh Dale (40)

Key winter moves: Australian pace bowler Gabe Bell is available for the first six Rothesay County Championship games and is expected to relish English conditions, while the recruitment of Will Williams from Lancashire and the return of Craig Miles from Warwickshire will further strengthen a seam attack depleted by the moves of Josh Shaw, Ajeet Singh Dale, Tom Price and Zaman Akhter to Somerset, Lancashire, Sussex and Essex respectively.