After impressing for Northamptonshire’s second XI throughout the 2022 season, 19-year-old pace bowler George Gowler was awarded his first professional contract prior to the 2023 season.

A regular performer in the Second XI County Championship over the previous two campaigns, Gowler has shown his specialism to be in red-ball cricket. Often against more experienced opponents, the teenager has claimed 18 wickets in eight games. A persistent ability to hit the top of off-stump, accompanied by pace and bounce from a tall height, make him a real threat.

Also possessing the ability to find movement through the air and off the pitch, Academy Director Kevin Innis has identified him as the sort of seam bowler who thrives in English conditions.

Gowler has signed a two-year rookie deal with the Steelbacks, penned alongside fellow academy graduate George Weldon.