James Franklin and Craig Spearman have both been declared fit for Gloucestershire's LV County Championship game at Northamptonshire, which starts today.

The New Zealand duo sat out Sunday's drubbing of Surrey in the Friends Provident Trophy with hamstring and hip problems respectively, but the return of all-rounder Franklin will be crucial to the balance of the four-day side.

Spearman's place in the final XI at Abington Avenue was far less certain this morning, with Will Porterfield making a strong case for inclusion at the top of the order.

The Irishman returned from international duty to top-score with 74 against the Browncaps and Gloucestershire captain Alex Gidman is thrilled to get him back.

"Although our season is well underway, Will is at an advantage to the rest of us in that he has been playing competitively for his country for a few weeks and is fully match sharp," said Gidman.

"He played very well on Sunday and it's great to have him back as an option."

Gidman and company are looking to bounce back from last week's home defeat to Essex, having begun the season so promisingly with a 10-point haul in drawing with Surrey at The Oval.

The skipper is in confident mood, despite a winless run in the Championship dating back to 2007.

"We've been involved in some thrilling games against Northants in recent years and it's always an interesting ground to play at," he said.

"I don't think we've lost too much confidence from last week and I know the boys have some frustrations to get out of their systems."

Plenty of eyes this week will be on 19-year-old seamer Ian Saxelby, who has picked up four Championship wickets this term and impressed with 4-31 on his List A debut at the weekend.

Early-season conditions also appear to have suited Gidman's medium pace, and he is pleased to be contributing with the ball so quickly after injury forced him to remodel his action during the winter.

"It was always the plan for me to bowl more when the situation demanded it and, fingers crossed, it's been going quite well," he said.

Gloucestershire (from): K Ali, C Spearman, H Marshall, W Porterfield, A Gidman (capt), C Taylor, J Franklin, S Snell (wkt), I Saxelby, J Lewis, V Banerjee, S Kirby.