Hampshire Is The Right Direction For Northeast

Charlie Talbot-Smith talks to Sam Northeast on why the biggest tug-of-war of the winter ended with a move to the south coast

- Charlie Talbot-Smith

Sam Northeast’s inbox has been out of control this year. No sooner had he reached an agreement to leave his boyhood county Kent, then nearly every Division One county declared an interest in bringing the 28-year-old on board.

That has made for a busy winter for the former Kent skipper, fielding calls and entertaining offers from what is believed to be as many as eight different potential suitors.

But a decision has finally been reached, and Northeast will stay in the south of England and make the short trip west along the south coast to Hampshire.

So with nearly every county competing for Northeast’s signature, why has he opted to make the Ageas Bowl his new home?

“There were a lot of really top-quality counties interested and the decision was not easy. I think, overall, Hampshire just felt like the right fit,” he said.

“I was really impressed with everything they are trying to do down there. I think the team is definitely moving forward in the right direction with a lot of youngsters like Mason Crane, Joe Weatherley and Tom Alsop and more established guys like (James) Vince, (Liam) Dawson and Kyle Abbott – it looks like they have the nice balance of experience and youth coming through.

“I have always enjoyed playing at the Ageas Bowl, being a bit closer to home was a bit of a factor as well. Overall, the whole picture just felt right.

“It has been pretty busy. When Kent allowed me to talk to other counties we had no idea how many would come in so it was really great to have the choice of a number of Division One counties.

“That makes me feel really good, it didn’t make the decision any easier, but it was good. There are a lot of really good counties out there, English cricket is in a great state.”