Never have so many damp trainers been raised ceremoniously into the drizzle-soaked Oval air. Northamptonshire’s “Shoe Army” descended on south London in hope rather than expectation of reaching Finals Day, the most dramatic of victories sending them to the Edgbaston showpiece for the first time in nine years.
The barefoot ritual that ended the victory over Surrey is more of a rugby and football tradition than a cricketing one. It was, nevertheless, saluted by Ravi Bopara – who at 40 years old is still hitting centuries in this format – and Darren Lehmann, the former Australia head coach inspiring a renaissance in the club’s Twenty20 fortunes.
Of course this matters immensely in the corridors of Wantage Road, but the Steelbacks also continue to attract widespread sympathisers from across county cricket.
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Jammed clumsily into the London Spirit franchise 70 miles from home, when The Hundred began they were one of the counties most at risk.
They had already flirted with oblivion, close to financial collapse in the mid-2010s before a major restructuring to bring in shareholders and become a limited company. Without that, the club might well not exist today. The Steelbacks still lack the economic muscle of the big hitters but are now virtually debt-free.
It is a perennial underdog status, however, that remains in-built into the fabric of Northamptonshire, still the holders of the longest run of winless County Championship matches – 99. In every year between 1934 and 1938, they finished bottom of the table (a good 70 years before it was split into two tiers).
The modern Steelbacks are better known for two things. For England, a talent factory capable of producing international cricketers, but struggling to keep hold of them. David Willey left for Yorkshire in 2016, before returning in 2023.
Olly Stone was hand-picked from Norfolk as a teenager, nurtured and turned into a top-quality pace bowler before joining Warwickshire in 2017. Likewise, Ben Duckett, who moved on to Nottinghamshire a year later. Were it not for persistent injuries, David Sales may have joined them.
T20 Blast Finals Day fixtures
Saturday 13 September
Semi-final 1 – Lancashire vs Somerset – 11am
Semi-final 2 – Northamptonshire vs Hampshire – 2.30pm
Final – teams TBC – 6.45pm
In Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, Northants also developed two of the most prolific spinners in England’s modern history.
The other side of their reputation is as a county of limited-overs specialists, even in more recent years when – much like the rest of the North Group – they have struggled to reach the T20 Blast’s later stages.
It stems from an extraordinary run between 2013-2016, when they reached Finals Day in three out of four years, winning the tournament twice under captain Alex Wakely and head coach David Ripley.
A similar bond has been forged between Willey, now captain, and Lehmann. This is a monumental vibe-shift – the coach from 10,000 miles away, once a great adversary of English cricket, singing Northamptonshire’s anthem The Fields Are Green after a first win at The Oval since 1999.
It is in keeping, though, with a man understood to take a keen interest in the county’s heritage.
Ben Sanderson and David Willey celebrate after beating Surrey (Photo: Getty)Lehmann is determined that the current squad should be aware of some of the more surprising names to have worn the shirt, even if only briefly: Sourav Ganguly, Kapil Dev, Curtly Ambrose, Anil Kumble, Matthew Hayden.
That is part of the culture that has allowed much of the core group to remain for so long – Rob Keogh, Ben Sanderson, Saif Zaib, Ricardo Vasconcelos. So long as Sanderson features in Saturday’s semi-final against Hampshire, he will notch up his 100th T20 appearance.
For a competition that has so long felt under threat, it is worth reiterating that it is primed for smaller counties to have a go at a shorter run of matches, without requiring the size of squad or consistency required in the Championship.
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The Blast also brings Wantage Road its most lucrative nights, at comfortably one of the smallest grounds with around 6,500 capacity. Once the floodlights are on, it can also be one of the most vociferous.
If that atmosphere was transportable to The Oval, Edgbaston promises to be even more raucous, with plenty more neutral admirers.
That is so long as the rain holds off their parade. Willey is among those to have voiced his frustration at Saturday’s matches effectively being shunted into the autumn to accommodate The Hundred.
Fortunately, his county are no strangers to adversity. Then again, they are no strangers to Finals Day either. The ripple effect of another Northants triumph would be felt well beyond the realms of county cricket’s favourite dark horses.
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