The London Midland line will be closed between Milton Keynes and Rugby on Sunday.

Buses will replace trains between Milton Keynes Central and Rugby via Northampton until 9pm on Sunday (September 6).

Engineering work, carried out by Network Rail, between Northampton and Rugby will close the line.

Until 7pm buses will replace trains between Milton Keynes Central and Rugby via Northampton.

For more information visit www.londonmidland.com.

Thousands of people will be travelling to Milton Keynes on Sunday for the Foo Fighters gig.

For further information about road closures in the area click here {http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/local/zero-tolerance-on-trouble-at-foo-fighters-gig-as-council-announce-road-closures-1-6939042|ROAD CLOSURES|}

Fixture: Northampton Town v Dagenham & Redbridge

Date/time: Saturday, September 5, 3pm kick-off

Venue: Sixfields

Weather forecast: 14C, cloudy

Outs and doubts: Cobblers: Adam Yates (thigh), Zander Diamond (leg), Ricky Holmes (back strain), Brendan Moloney (knee), Evan Horwood (groin). Dagenham: Andre Boucaud (international duty), Jack Connors (international duty)

Betting: Northampton 7/10, draw 13/5, Dagenham 4/1

Form guide: Cobblers WDLLLW, Daggers WDDLLL

Likely line-ups: Northampton (4-2-3-1): Smith; Yates, Cresswell, McDonald, Buchanan; Byrom, Taylor; Potter, Adams, D’Ath; Richards. 
Dagenham (4-4-2): O’Brien; Passley, Nosworthy, Obileye, Widdowson; Jones, Richards, Ferdinand, Hemmings; Cureton, McClure

Man in the middle: In charge on Saturday will be Charles Breakspear who also took oversaw this fixture last year when Northampton ran out 1-0 winners. The referee handed out 97 yellow cards and nine reds in 29 games last season and has so far dished out 16 yellows this campaign.

Last time out: Northampton 3 (Calvert-Lewin, Watson, Richards) Colchester 2 (Bonne 2); Cambridge United 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 2 (Hemmings, McClure)

Most recent meeting: Saturday, January 17, Northampton 1 (Holmes) Dagenham 0

Cobblers connection: Northampton midfielder Lawson D’Ath made 21 appearances while on loan at the Daggers from Reading in 2013/14. He scored one goal in his time at Dagenham before returning to his parent club. D’Ath was released by Reading in 2014 and following trials at Bristol Rovers and Yeovil, signed a contract with Northampton in August.

Opposition view: Wayne Burnett speaking to the club’s website: “Chris Wilder is a really good friend of mine, but I can’t seem to beat him! I never beat him at Oxford or Northampton and as a team we have only ever got a point against Northampton. It’s always tough against them, Chris sets up his teams very competitively and they have some decent footballers, but we are three unbeaten now and hopefully that can give us some confidence.”

James Heneghan’s preview: Without tempting fate, all the signs point firmly in the direction of a home victory this weekend with the Cobblers currently boasting an utterly dominant head-to-head record between the two.

Northampton are yet to lose to Dagenham in any of their previous 10 meetings, winning nine and drawing just one, with the latest victory coming via a solitary Ricky Holmes goal at Sixfields in January.

Not only does the head-to-head record bode well for Northampton, but so does current form.

While the Cobblers have hardly set the world alight in recent weeks, it doesn’t compare to the troubles of this weekend’s visitors who have endured a miserable start to the campaign with no wins from their opening five games.

In fact, the Daggers go into tomorrow’s clash having only notched their first victory of the season on Tuesday, beating Cambridge United 2-0 in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

Prior to that win, Dagenham had suffered a stuttering start to the Sky Bet League Two season, losing their first three games, although two draws against Wycombe and then Stevenage last week, plus Tuesday’s moral-boosting win, has lifted spirits.

Despite that turnaround in form, though, Dagenham remain in the relegation zone at this early stage and they are, along with Newport County, the favourites for relegation with the bookies.

You would think, then, that Saturday’s game represents an ideal opportunity for the Cobblers to get back to winning ways in the league, especially after Tuesday’s confidence lifting 3-2 win over League One outfit Colchester United in the JPT.

The growing injury list remains a worry, however, with Adam Yates the latest concern. He’s a doubt with a thigh strain picked up in the win over Colchester, while Zander Diamond, Ricky Holmes, Brendan Moloney and Evan Horwood remain sidelined.

One crumb of comfort for Chris Wilder and Northampton fans is that the less cluttered fixture list over the next month, with three games in 20 days following tomorrow, should allow those injured players a chance to recover quicker.

Dagenham have a clean bill of health coming into the game although they are without influential captain Andre Boucaud who’s on international duty with Trinidad and Tobago.

Wayne Burnett may stick with the majority of the side that beat Cambridge in midweek but veteran striker Jamie Cureton is likely to return.

Prediction: Northampton 3 Dagenham 1

A school in Northamptonshire has denied claims that a large number of children were sent home on their first day for flouting uniform rules.

Our sister paper the Northants Telegraph was contacted by an angry parent complaining that 87 pupils had been forced to go home from Kettering Science Academy yesterday.

But principal Paul Davies said that while a small minority turned up in the wrong uniform, they were all allowed to continue learning.

He said: “We were commended by Ofsted in June for our uniform policy and pupils are proud to wear it.

“We feel it is important to look right but nobody was sent home or put in isolation or even told off.

“Some letters were sent home to parents but it was only pupils’ interpretation of the uniform that was incorrect, such as skirt lengths.

“The parents here support us over our uniform policy and it’s a fundamental part of the school.”

Cobblers manager Chris Wilder has heaped praise on Dagenham & Redbridge boss Wayne Burnett ahead of the Sixfields meeting between the sides on Saturday (ko 3pm).

The east Londoners come to Northampton sitting second bottom in Sky Bet League Two, without a win and with just two points to their name after difficult start to the campaign.

But Wilder is not about to take notice of their lowly position in the table, and is anticipating a difficult afternoon as his own side target their first league win since August 15.

Burnett, in Wilder’s opinion, has, and is doing, a great job in charge of the Daggers, and he expects him to continue doing so.

“Managers get judged on results, but sometimes you should look at the bigger picture, and I know what a really good job Wayne Burnett does down there because he works hard,” said Wilder.

“He has to go out and find players, and then work hard and develop them on the training field.

“He works extrememely hard on and off the pitch to get a group together, and they have not had a great start and he will want to put that right.

“To keep Dagenham in the League year on year as he has done, and John Still before him, is a really good achievement.

“For Dagenham to get into league one as they did was an unbelievable achievement, because they have basically always been a non-League side throughout their history.

“So for John to start it and then for Wayne to step in, keeping them in the league is an achievement, but he will want to do more than that and will want to be mid-table and pressing.

“They will be looking to kick-start their season, and we have to be wary of that.”

Likely to lead Dagenham’s attacking line at Sixfields is Jamie Cureton, who is still going strong despite turning 40 last week.

Cureton has been a professional footballer for more than 23 years, and has scored 279 goals in a career spanning 619 starts and 183 substitute appearances for 14 different clubs - and he is still going strong.

He is off the mark this season, having netted in Dagenham’s 3-1 home defeat against Leyton Orient, and he scored 20 times in 48 appearances for them last time around.

Cureton will run out on Saturday an amazing 18 years after his first appearance at Sixfields for Bristol Rovers in November, 1997, when he scored in a 1-1 draw, and Wilder believes he will be the visitors’ main threat all these years later.

“Wayne Burnett has picked up Jamie Cureton from Cheltenham, and he has put legs around him in the team,” said the Cobblers boss.

“They have to get value for money, and fair play to him, Cureton has had an outstanding career.

“To get up every morning and still want to be a professional footballer at 40 speaks volumes for him, and we know he is a threat.

“He will get opportunities, and we will definitely be talking about him before the game, and about his movement.

“You see some of the goals he has scored, and we have to be aware because he is a major threat to us.

“I believe if we can keep him quiet, and their front four quiet, if we can wrap them up then that will be the key as we believe we have players going the other way that can hurt them as well.”

Dagenham are likely to include two former Cobblers players in their starting line-up on Saturday, with Joe Widdowson playing in defence and Kane Ferdinand in midfield.

People in Northamptonshire are being warned about a phone scam after an elderly lady was called by someone claiming to be from the Ministry of Justice.

Northamptonshire Police is warning people not to share their personal or bank details with people who phone them asking for this information.

The elderly lady was asked for bank details by someone claiming to be from the Ministry of Justice who became rude and aggressive when challenged.

A police spokesman said: “Legitimate organisations will not make speculative phone calls requesting personal or bank details and will be happy to be challenged on their identity if they do call to speak to you.”

If you receive a suspicious call of this nature, hang up and call Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

The Albion Brewery Bar continues its Sunday session on the September 13 with a Rock n’ Roll night featuring one of the country’s top bebop acts, Lula & The Bebops, who bring their Steady Roll tour into Northampton.

The evening will also feature a 1950s DJ set with music from 78rms shellac records as well as vinyl 45s. To top off the period feel Phipps are relaunching one of the company’s much missed 1950s beers, Bison Brown Ale,

available again for the first time since the mid ‘60s.

Doors 7:30, £5 in but discount for arriving in period costume. For more information, visit www.phipps-nbc.co.uk

A predatory sex offender who raped a woman less than two years after he sexually assaulted two teenage girls has been given a 12-year jail sentence.

Anthony Francois, aged 41, of Kiln Way, Wellingborough, was convicted by a jury, of three counts of rape, sexual assault and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent after a trial at Northampton Crown Court.

At a sentencing hearing today (Friday), the court heard the offences had left the victim fearful in her interactions with men.

A victim impact statement read to the court stated: “I used to be a really outgoing person but all that has changed.

“I do not trust men and I try to make myself less attractive.”

His Honour Judge Timothy Smith said Francois’ offences, which happened in 2013, were particularly serious as they took place during the licence period of his earlier conviction for sexually assaulting two young girls.

He said: “These convictions demonstrate you have an uncontrollable sexual interest in young girls.

“All of those offences were predatory ones where you showed a desire to dominate and overpower the victims.”

Francois was given a 12-year jail sentence and Judge Smith added on a four-year licence period. He said Francois will serve at least two thirds of his prison sentence before being considered for parole.

He will have to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for the rest of his life.

Detective Constable Billy Roberts, from Wellingborough CID, said the victim had shown great courage to give evidence during the trial.

He said: “Francois who was on the sex offenders register at the time of these offences is clearly a persistent and predatory offender who not for the first time has targeted a vulnerable young woman. He has shown no remorse for his crimes and clearly presents a danger to women in general.

“The victim in this case, showed great courage in making the initial report and then subsequently by attending court to give evidence. Without her determination and resilience this man would still be at large and free to commit further offences.

Saints star George North will make his first Millennium Stadium appearance for almost six months on Saturday after he “ticked all the boxes” on a long comeback trail from injury.

North played the full 80 minutes of last weekend’s impressive World Cup warm-up victory against reigning RBS 6 Nations champions Ireland in Dublin as Wales increased their tournament preparations.

It marked the 23-year-old Northampton wing’s return to competitive action after he suffered three concussions last season, and he is now looking for a stylish World Cup send-off when Wales host Italy in their last game before facing opening Pool A opponents Uruguay later this month.

“For me, it was never a big issue about returning to play,” North said.

“I have done everything properly and have ticked all the boxes, and I knew I could go out there and give it my all.

“You have got to focus on making sure you are fit and well. I knew I would come back, it was just a matter of getting it right. I was just delighted to be

back playing.

“I was advised well from minute one by Wales and Northampton - they were both excellent with me. I saw the right people and they made the decision I wouldn’t play again until last Saturday. And it has worked well.”

The last time North tackled Italy, he claimed his first Test hat-trick of tries as Wales reduced the Azzurri to ruins in Rome on a frantic final day of the 2015 Six Nations.

North’s current Wales tally of 22 touchdowns is bettered by just three players - Shane Williams, Gareth Thomas and Ieuan Evans - and he will be a major World Cup strike weapon in the attempt to emerge from a fearsome group that also includes hosts England and twice-world champions Australia.

“For me, I can never score enough tries and the more I score it’s always brilliant,” he added.

“It is my job to score tries and if I don’t then the finger will be pointed at me. Especially at the World Cup, you want to be focused on doing the best you

can and scoring tries is my job.

“It is just about playing well on Saturday, going in with our plays and making sure we execute everything well. Points are always good, but for us it’s our last dress-rehearsal before the group stages and we want to come out of it firing.”

Kieran Brookes is ready to help England deflate pumped up Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm).

The Saints man is set to see some action from the bench in the final World Cup warm-up encounter.

It will be a contest between two teams desperate to get back on track before the serious stuff starts later this month.

England lost their most recent fixture, in France, while Ireland were beaten 16-10 by George North’s Wales in Dublin last weekend.

And Brookes, who has joined Northampton from Newcastle this summer, said: “It’s massive.

“They’re going to be pretty pumped coming off a loss at the weekend.

“They’ve got a great maul, a big set piece and it’s going to be a huge challenge for 
us.

“Aerially they are going to be tough with their kicking game. They kick more than any other team we play against.

“But we’ve got to focus on us and take what we’ve been working on into the game.

“It’s the last warm-up before the first World Cup game against Fiji (on September 18) and everyone’s buzzing to get out on the pitch.

“We want to put some wrongs right after France and go into the World Cup with a win.”

Brookes will battle Leicester Tigers prop Dan Cole for England’s starting tighthead spot at the World Cup.

And the new Saints front row forward said: “Starting’s got to be the end goal but just to be involved in a home World Cup would 
be a massive dream come true.

“My family and everyone are behind me, and to run out at Twickenham in a World Cup would be a dream come true.

“It’s something I can’t wait to happen.”

The LV= County Championship Division Two clash between Essex and Northants at the Essex County Ground ended in a draw after bad light brought an end to play with the visitors 92 for four in pursuit of 302.

After an aggressive declaration from Essex earlier in the day, they were looking to force victory as Jamie Porter breached the defences of David Murphy early on.

Porter then took his haul of Championship wickets to 46 for the current campaign when bringing a ball back into Alex Wakely, who was bowled for 17 to leave his side 48 for two and Essex with hopes of victory.

Their hopes were dented by bad light and a vigilant innings by opener Ben Duckett, who stood firm to reach the close with an unbeaten 34.

With the light still deteriorating and two slow bowlers operating, Rob Keogh reached 17 before a direct throw by substitute fielder Aaron Beard from cover left him short of his ground.

Three runs later, Aron Nijjar bowled Josh Cobb without scoring to give the Eagles 25 overs to take the remaining six wickets.

However, just three more overs were possible before umpires Martin Bodenham and Martin Saggers again called a halt to proceedings.

This time the suspension of play cut into the final hour and both captains subsequently agreed on the draw.

Earlier, Essex added 161 runs to their overnight total of 55 for one, with the last 65 coming off nine overs after lunch as Ryan ten Doeschate and Mark Pettini raised the tempo to set up the declaration.

The pair poster an unbroken 77 runs for the sixth wicket contributing 43 and 37 respectively with an array of cleanly struck drives on both sides of the wicket before the declaration came.

Teenager Dan Lawrence hit 36 and Ravi Bopara 25 whilst Tom Westley and Jesse Ryder also made starts before falling to former Essex pace bowler Maurice Chambers, who produced a beauty of a delivery to bowl Westley.

However, the draw was always the most likely result, with a total of 106 overs lost to the elements during the match.

Northants head coach David Ripley said: “We asked the boys for a big effort after the Twenty20 finals day and I think we got a good shift from them and they competed well.

“The key moment was the partnership between (James) Foster and (Mark) Pettini that put on 146 runs after we had reduced them to 119 for six. Having won the toss, to only get two bowling points was disappointing.

“But I thought we created opportunities in the way we bowled and on a number of occasions, the ball went just past the edge of the bat. That allowed Essex to get ahead in the game and we had to play catch-up.

“But thankfully, we got our draw come the end of the game.”

A 34-year-old man who sexually assaulted another man in Northampton has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Alex Barton, of Martins Lane, Hardingstone, pulled the man’s shorts and underwear down and performed a sex act on the man as he was sleeping on April 2 last year.

Barton appeared at Northampton Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to sexual assault.

The court heard the victim had been left “very troubled” by the incident.

Judge Rupert Mayo sentenced Barton to 14 months in prison, suspended for two years. He must also complete 50 hours unpaid work. He will have to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for the next 10 years.

An application to open one of the UK’s largest Starbucks in Northampton’s Market Square has been approved.

The US chain announced the plans to open a store in a ‘landmark building’ in the market square in March.

And councillors at the Guildhall have now approved an application to open the outlet at the unit currently occupied by the That’s Entertainment music and DVD store.

Concerns had been raised that a planning policy for the Market Square states 80 per cent of the shops should be retail.

With a new Starbucks coupled with the potential for a restaurant on the Abington Street corner, that would fall to 64 per cent.

However, planning officers said the benefits of extra footfall outweighed the negatives.

Stephen Boyes said: “It is noted that whilst there should be a predominance of retailing, additional uses which would add variety and vibrancy to the Market Square should be sought, particularly in instances where the use would operate throughout the day and into the evening.

“The operation of a café here would support the operation of Market Square as a retailing location, as customers would link a visit to the proposed cafe with the surrounding shops and market.

“In addition, the development would also support the town’s evening/night economy.”

Back in July the company said it aimed to open in late September and was looking to create 25 new jobs.

The application shows the ground floor will have the counter and some seating, with extra tables and chairs both upstairs and outside.

The application notes that in 2012 an application for the unit to be converted to a restaurant was thrown out because it would mean a loss of retail on the square.

However, officers said the sale of food and drink at a Starbucks for consumption elsewhere could be classified as retail.

And they concluded that the applications are significantly different.

Mr Boyes said: “In particular, the proposed development would be open during the day, which would support the viability of the Market Square.

“In addition, the inclusion of outdoor seating area would generate activity and interest at street level, which directly addresses one of the criticisms raised by the Inspector during the appeal process. “In addition, this development is of a larger scale than that previously considered and as a result the proposal could not be reasonably accommodated within any of the limited vacant units within the Market Square.”

It has been yet another week that has showcased the importance of South African star Rory Kleinveldt to Northants.

Last Saturday, the well-built bowler impressed as the Steelbacks shot down the Birmingham Bears in the NatWest T20 Blast semi-final at Edgbaston.

And although he couldn’t come to the fore in the final, he was soon back doing what he does best in the County Championship clash with Essex, which began on Tuesday.

Kleinveldt, who arrived at Northants at the beginning of this season, claimed his 50th first-class victim of the campaign in that encounter.

Only two overseas players have more wickets this season, with Sussex’s Steve Magoffin and Leicestershire’s Clint McKay leading the way.

And Northants head coach David Ripley is delighted with the impact his astute signing is having on all formats of the game.

“You talk about value for money and that’s exactly what we’ve got from Rory,” said Ripley.

“He’s played in virtually all of our games in all formats, he’s took his catches, he’s got 50 first class wickets and he’s hit the wicket hard in one-day games up front.

“He’s taken wickets and contributed fully in the dressing room.

“We’re delighted with what Rory’s given us.”

Kleinveldt has another year left on his county contract and Ripley would like to extend that stay even further.

He is also keen to keep hold of Richard Levi, Kleinveldt’s countryman, who finished top of Northants’ T20 batting averages.

“Rory has another year left, which is no problem,” said Ripley. “We’re hopeful we might be able to push it even further than that.

“And we’re in discussions with Richard.”

Kleinveldt and Levi both played huge roles as Northants recovered from three North Group successive defeats to reach the knock-out stages and ultimately the final in the T20 tournament.

And Ripley said: “My first thought was that I was proud of the players.

“We didn’t want to start the competition so slowly, that wasn’t part of our plan but to go from bottom of the league - played three, lost three - to the final was great.

“There was a lot of fight and team spirit, but skill as well.”

Cobblers boss Chris Wilder believes there is still a lot more to come from central midfielder Ryan Watson.

The 22-year-old joined for a second loan spell from Premier League side Leicester City last month, having spent almost a year out of the game due to a cruciate ligament knee injury picked up in his first stint at Sixfields.

He endured a difficult start to his loan spell with the Cobblers, gifting possession to Plymouth’s Graham Carey just before half-tim on his debut, allowing the Argyle man to score the opening goal in the devon side’s 2-0 win at Sixfields on August 22.

Watson struggled to regain his composure following his mistake, but Wilder kept faith with him and selected him for the trips to Newcastle United and he then came off the bench at Accrington as he started to regain his touch.

Watson was a starter again in Tuesday night’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy clash with Colchester United at Sixfields, and turned in arguably his best performance for the club to date, scoring a stunning goal into the bargain.

The Crewe-born youngster picked up the ball in his own half and drove at the heart of Colchester defence, gliding past several opponents before unleashing a low piledriver into the bottom corner of the net from 20 yards.

It was his first goal in senior football, it was a belting finish, and Wilder is convinced it won’t be his last as he regains full fitness and confidence.

“It is difficult when Ryan hasn’t played a lot of football, and he comes into a group when he is possibly still not cooked,” said the Cobblers boss.

“He will only become cooked by getting on the pitch and playing minutes, and I think he has shown his bravery and character.

“He gave the ball away against Plymouth and it obviously ended up in the back of our net, and it was a difficult afternoon that for all of us.

“There is more to come from him. We brought him in because of what he did on Tuesday, and hopefully he can kick on from there.”

And on the goal, Wilder said: “Colchester will probably moan that they have not laid a glove on Ryan, and he has drifted through two or three tackles.

“But we can say he has been really powerful and strong, and got his shot off which we encourage the boys to do - it does drive me mad at times that they take that extra pass.

“But they have to make the right decisions at the top of the pitch, and Ryan’s was a great decision. It was a great bit of skill to get into that position, and a fantastic finish.”

Watson will have to wait and see if he will continue in central midfield for the visit of Dagenham & Redbridge to Sixfields on Saturday (ko 3pm) in Sky Bet League Two, although it could be that Wilder will recall Jason Taylor.

Northampton Town manager Chris Wilder branded his side’s 2-1 defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge as “unacceptable” after two first half goals from Matt McClure saw the visitors to their first victory of the season.

The Cobblers appeared in control after 25 minutes and they deservedly led through Marc Richards’ header but McClure capitalised on some poor defending to turn the game on its head.

From that point on Northampton struggled to regain the initiative with home goalkeeper Adam Smith making a number of fine saves to prevent Dagenham from winning by a greater margin.

Wilder said afterwards: “For the first half an hour we were the better side. Our goalkeeper hasn’t had anything to save and we had a lot of the ball and scored a really good goal.

“But then we gave away two awful goals and we lost a bit of belief. It gave them a massive boost because up until that point we were in control.

“We huffed and puffed second half, had a lot of the ball and they sat deep and I tried to change the system but we have to be brave enough to move the ball quicker which we didn’t today, especially in the second half.

“Our goalkeeper has done fantastically well to keep us in the game. He’s had far too much work to do.

“We were open and chasing the game which you have to when you’re 2-1 down because we wanted to get something out of the game but we didn’t score and they had pace on the counter-attack which hurt us.”

Wilder also felt some of his players lost confidence once they conceded which had a detrimental impact on the rest of the team.

He added: “We were in the ascendency and I was expecting us to go on.

“The shape of the team was good and they weren’t hurting us at all but I thought one or two of our players severely lost confidence in themselves and when that’s the case you’re down by two or three players who are not on their game and it hurts the team.

“It’s not acceptable and we have to take responsibility.

“We created enough chances but it’s at the other end where we’re struggling to keep the ball out of our net and when it does go in we lose a lot of heart and belief and we need to man up.”

Northampton had never lost to the Daggers in their previous 10 meetings, winning nine and drawing one.

“This is a game we should have won regardless of our record,” Wilder added.

“We’ve got some big weeks coming up now. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on the training ground.”

Police have confirmed that the pilot who died in a light aircraft crash in south Northamptonshire was a 39-year-old man.

Emergency services were called to the scene at Hinton-in-the-Hedges airfield at 12.10pm yesterday.

Northamptonshire Police have also said today that the pilot is from the London area and reiterated that the team from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in Farnborough, Hampshire, are leading the investigation supported by county police officers.

The man’s next of kin, who are understood to be abroad, have been informed and a formal identification will take place on Monday.

The words in the brackets next to his name on RFU emails show that he is now a Northampton Saints player.

But for Kieran Brookes, there is a lot to fit in before he finally makes the move to Franklin’s Gardens.

The prop, formerly of Newcastle Falcons, is currently with England, having made the final cut ahead of the World Cup, which begins with a game against Fiji at Twickenham on September 18.

It has been a whirlwind summer - and things are about to get even more hectic for Brookes, who celebrated his 25th birthday with some welcome down time in Dartmoor last weekend.

Once he is done with England - and that could be as late as October 31 should Stuart Lancaster’s men make the final - he will head to Saints.

The club will already have started their season, with games against Worcester and Newcastle coming in the weeks before the World Cup showpiece.

And Brookes knows it is a strange scenario that he finds himself in, not having the traditional pre-season punishment to help him bond with his new team-mates.

“It is a bit odd, starting with a new club but not actually starting,” said the tighthead, who will be tasked with filling the boots of Toulon’s Salesi Ma’afu at the Gardens.

“But I know that it is the right time for me to move.

“I spoke to a couple of lads I already knew and then met up with Jim (Mallinder) and Westy (Dorian West) and decided it was the right place.

“The success of recent years came into it a lot.

“Playing with players like (Alex) Corbisiero and Dylan (Hartley) was massive for me and obviously working with Westy.

“There were a lot of factors that drew me to Saints: winning trophies, making the top four year in, year out and I also thought it was a massive opportunity to take my career to the next level.

“It would have been a tough move to turn down.”

And Brookes simply couldn’t refuse the chance to switch to Saints.

As he alludes to, he knows many of the current Northampton squad due to having met them on England duty.

And that should help remove a few of the new boy fears when he samples his first day at Franklin’s Gardens.

“I spoke to the lads I know at Northampton a lot during the decision making time,” said Brookes, who first heard of Saints’ interest around Christmas time.

“Courtney (Lawes) is here as well, I know Daisy (Christian Day) really well and I can’t wait to get involved.

“I spoke to Alex Waller, had a couple of conversations with him and he’s a great example of working with Dorian and coming up through the Academy.

“That’s made him the player he is and I’m really looking forward to working with Westy.”

Brookes, who spent two injury-hit years at Leicester before returning to Newcastle in 2013, will hope to emulate the likes of Phil Dowson and Lee Dickson, who both enjoyed successful switches from Falcons to Saints.

And he said: “They said it was one of the best environments they’ve ever been in and they just love being there.

“They feel like they developed every day so that was definitely something I took into consideration moving down.”

Northants head coach David Ripley has revealed the county have missed out on the signing of Nottinghamshire’s Brett Hutton.

Ripley had earmarked medium-fast bowler Hutton as a man to help fill the void left by David Willey, who is moving to Yorkshire.

But the 22-year-old opted to remain at Trent Bridge after his playing time at the County Championship Division One club increased.

Hutton has eight first-class matches under his belt, taking 24 wickets and notching 270 runs.

But he will not be heading to Northants at the conclusion of this campaign.

“We did put 28 days’ notice on Ben Hutton but that coincided with him playing more cricket at Notts so he’s decided to stay where he is,” Ripley said. “Other than him, we’re waiting to sort out our own staff and we’ll see where we go from there. It’s a bit sleepy because we’re still waiting for final budget figures.

“We’re only able to get so far and we’re waiting for a more of a green light to push one or two things forward.”

Ripley says Northants are not looking to expand their squad size for next season.

But he knows they must replace England all-rounder Willey.

“The main thing we need to replace from David is a seam bowler because we had six seam bowlers at the start of the season of which David was one,” Ripley said.

“We’ve need someone who can bowl some of our overs and you’re not going to get many David Willeys.

“It’s not as though we’ve got David’s salary to go out and spend, we’ve got to make a slight adjustment to the budget and we’ve got to do the best we can.

“We’re looking for value for money, which is important given where we are.

“With a small squad we probably need people who can feature in all formats.

“It’s important that they can do T20 cricket as much as they can do four-day cricket. We’re not going to go from a squad of 17 and turn that into 21.”

Brackley Town’s poor start to the Vanarama National North League campaign ended in a 4-2 defeat against North Ferriby United.

The visitors scored two goals in each half of Saturday’s clash at St James Park where Saints were reduced to ten men again before halftime.

Curtis Bateson put North Ferriby two up inside the half hour mark. Bateson fired home in the 22nd minute after Saints three times failed to clear and six minutes later he doubled their lead with a superb individual effort which curled beyond keeper Dan Crane.

Sam Whittall reduced the deficit, heading in Stephan Morley’s free-kick in the 33rd minute but Saints then spurned chances to equalise. On the stroke of halftime, Whittall was deemed to have fouled Liam King in the penalty area and receiving his marching orders but King smashed the ensuing spot-kick against the bar.

Ferriby increased the lead four minutes after the break when Ryan Kendall netted from close range after Bateson’s shot rebounded off the bar while at the other end Luke Graham’s header hit the woodwork but was cleared.

Graham blocked Danny Clarke’s goal-bound effort before Kendall doubled his tally in the 68th minute, poking home after Tom Denton won an aerial battle. David Moyo got one back for Saints in the 79th minute but it was The Villagers who remained in the ascendency to end a run of five successive draws to claim a first away win of the season.

The Cobblers squandered a golden chance to get back to winning ways in the league on Saturday and as a consequence of this woeful home defeat, their promotion credentials must now be seriously questioned.

It’s far too early to panic, of course, and seven points after six games is hardly catastrophic, but it’s more the manner of their performances, particularly this one against Dagenham & Redbridge, that will cause the most concern among supporters, players and manager Chris Wilder.

In fact, if anything, Northampton fans will be nervously looking down, rather than up, at this early stage of the season following Saturday’s defeat to a side who they had previously never lost to.

To put it into context, this is a Dagenham side who came into the game sitting second from bottom, without a win all season and one of the heavy favourites for relegation.

So what went wrong?

Well, on paper, Northampton have a squad capable of challenging for a play-off place at the very least. Players like Nicky Adams, Marc Richards, David Buchanan and Adam Smith are clearly talented enough, but the depth of their squad is now being seriously tested with a growing injury list and there are question marks over whether some of the back-up players are good enough.

There also seems to be a lack of resilience, leadership and mental strength, especially when they go behind.

Wilder’s said have fallen behind on four occasions this season - against Barnet, Plymouth, Newcastle and now Dagenham - and are yet to get back on level terms in any of those games, going on to lose all four.

Saturday’s game was more of the same. For the first 25 minutes Northampton were in the ascendancy and had the game under control thanks to Richards’ header from a fine Adams cross.

But then it all went horribly wrong. As soon as they conceded, the Cobblers completely lost their way and struggled to ever regain the initiative.

The first goal was naive defending at best, the second was comical and from thereafter there was only ever going to be one winner.

Despite keeping three clean sheets in their first three games, Northampton have looked defensively vulnerable all season and if it wasn’t for the excellent Adam Smith in goal, they would have conceded many more.

And on Saturday, their defensive deficiencies were ruthlessly exposed by Dagenham who pounced on two errors to score two goals and but for more good goalkeeping from Smith, the final scoreline would have been far more one-sided.

Dagenham skipper Ashley Hemmings caught the eye and was the chief tormentor. The winger had his own personal duel with Smith in the second half, denied three times by the home keeper.

It was a difficult day for young Josh Lelan. The 20-year-old has obvious qualities - he’s strong, quick and good in the air - but is still very raw and at times naive, highlighted in the build-up to Dagenham’s opening goal when he went charging up the pitch and left the defence exposed with Hemmings given acres of space to cross for Matt McClure to head home.

Another to struggle was Rod McDonald, who has shown promise in recent games but his failure to take command of the situation for the second goal proved costly and that seemed to drain his confidence as he was never able to recover.

The news that Alfie Potter has a dead leg is hardly a welcome one, either, with the injury list already up to five prior to Saturday.

So where does this leave Northampton now? Next weekend’s game against Oxford United will reveal a lot.

How they rated...

Adam Smith - Says a lot that he was arguably Northampton’s best player despite being partly at fault for Dagenham’s second goal. Pulled off a number of fine saves to prevent a more one-sided scoreline... 6.5

Josh Lelan - Torrid afternoon for the youngster. Caught way out of position for the first goal and never recovered... 4.5

Rod McDonald - Another man to endure a difficult day. Should have been more commanding when trying to clear for Dagenham’s second goal... 4.5

Ryan Cresswell - Didn’t do too badly all things considered despite being hopelessly exposed by his team-mates at times. Cleared one header off the line and had another blocked on the line at the other end... 6

David Buchanan - Wasn’t at fault for either goal but did get caught out of position in the second half when charging up the pitch looking to get a goal back... 6

Ryan Watson - Picked up where he left off on Tuesday. Brought some drive and energy to midfield but faded as the game wore on... 6

Joel Byrom - Good in possession but, alongside Watson, didn’t offer enough protection and left the defence exposed with gaps for Dagenham to exploit on the break... 5

Alfie Potter - Started well. Was denied by Liam O’Brien early on before smashing an effort just wide. Went off with a dead leg on the half-hour mark... 6.5

Nicky Adams - Put in a superb cross for the goal. Always tried to make something happen... 7

Lawson D’Ath - Similar to Potter in the way he started the game. Was eager to get on the ball early on but barely had a kick after Northampton fell behind. Was taken off just after half-time... 6

Marc Richards - Lovely header to put Northampton ahead but gave the ball away on the halfway line which led to the first goal. Otherwise had little service... 6

Substitutes

Chris Hackett - On for Potter in the first half but had little impact. Struggled to get in the game... 6

Sam Hoskins - Always adds energy and impetus when he comes on. Came inches away from equalising with a superb 25-yard effort which O’Brien tipped onto the crossbar... 7

Dominic Calvert-Lewin - Thrown on as a desperate last roll of the dice. Put himself about but the ball wouldn’t fall for him... 6