Ashton Agar ruled out of Northants Blast stint

After a successful stint last season, Agar was set to come back to Wantage Road with the aim of going one step further than the quarter-finals that the Steelbacks achieved last year, but the injury has now prevented the Australian from returning.

“I’m extremely disappointed to be missing this year’s Vitality Blast with Northamptonshire,” Agar said.

“I loved my time there last season, it’s a fantastic club with great people and I’ll be watching and supporting the boys from Perth.” He added.

Northamptonshire confirmed that an overseas replacement for the 2025 Vitality Blast will be announced shortly.

“We’re all very disappointed for Ashton, but we wish him well in his recovery," head coach Darren Lehmann said.

During his stint last summer, Agar mainly impressed with the bat, achieving of a strike rate of just over 190 from his six innings.

The Australian played a key role during the busy final fixtures, striking a destructive 31 off 14 in the rain-affected game against Durham, as well as the winning runs in the Steelbacks historic win against Lancashire Lightning at Old Trafford.

Along with his efforts with bat and ball, Agar’s experience proved important for the squad, with the Steelbacks winning four of the final five group games that he featured in.

There is also uncertainty surrounding the availability of South African batter Matthew Breetzke for the start of the Blast, due to the disruption of the IPL 2025. Although Breetzke hasn’t featured in a game this season, he is contracted to the Lucknow Super Giants and is expected to return to India for the rescheduled conclusion of the tournament.