Cricket stars of tomorrow to contest inaugural Twenty20 competition at the home of Northants

A trio of cricketers from the University of Northampton are staging an early season extravaganza at the home of the reigning Twenty20 champions.

Students Matt Johns, Ed Bartlett and Ryan Donnelly have organised a four-way university Twenty20 tournament at Northamptonshire County Cricket Club’s historic 7,000-capacity County Ground.

University sides Loughborough, Birmingham, Warwick and Exeter will battle it out on Saturday 15 April for the inaugural T20 University of Northampton Men’s Cricket Tournament title.

Supporters from all four institutions will be there to cheer on their teams, but the organisers are keen to see as many people from Northamptonshire to swell the numbers on the day.

Matt, who along with Ed and Ryan form the University of Northampton’s Men’s Cricket committee, said: “It promises to be an exciting day of T20 cricket between arguably the top four university sides in the country, and offers a great opportunity to spot the stars of tomorrow.

“Loughborough, for example, have produced a large number of cricketers who have obtained county contracts and, of course, Northants and England spinner Monty Panesar.

“It’s been a long winter and now the cricket season is finally upon us, what better way to quench your thirst for the game?”

The tournament format consists of two semi-final matches and the final. The bar will be open and food and refreshments will be available at the event, which is hosted by the County Ground. Tickets cost £5 on the door with gates opening at 10am.

You can follow the University’s men’s cricket team on Twitter.