By Matt Somerford
Outgoing skipper Jim Troughton believes Warwickshire are perfectly placed to be a dominant force in domestic cricket for the foreseeable future.
In an era where the culture of the club is sought almost as voraciously as titles the Bears appear to have a healthy grip on both.
Larger-than-life character Troughton can take much credit for that, after captaining the Bears to the 2012 LV= County Championship just five years after relegation.
This summer they got their hands on the NatWest T20 Blast for the first time– while second place in the championship and a second Lord’s final in three years offered a return the envy of every other county.
That Warwickshire were able to make sustained efforts in all competitions is a testament to the character at the club according to Troughton, after a season when injury struck.
Most significantly the bowling stocks were restricted by ailment and national duty, leaving them without five first-choice seamers at various points during the summer.
Troughton himself managed just two championship games, before a long-term back injury eventually forced his retirement, but he believes the squad he leaves is in rude health.
“The environment at Warwickshire is pretty solid,” Troughton, who spent the latter part of the season working alongside director of cricket Dougie Brown, exclusively told ecb.co.uk.
“Yorkshire absolutely deserved to win the championship, they were the best four-day team in the country by a distance, and when you look at our four-day cricket we were inconsistent at times when we shouldn’t have been.
“But, I think we had the strongest squad in the country. Not just because of size – that helps – but the character of the players. Look at the guys that came in when we had injuries to (Chris) Wright, (Keith) Barker, (Rikki) Clarke, (Boyd) Rankin and call-ups for (Chris) Woakes. That’s five seamers.
“I think if a lot of other counties lost their top five seamers they would struggle, but the likes of (Oliver) Hannon-Dalby, Recordo Gordon, Richard Jones they have all come in and performed. They haven’t just made up the numbers.
“I think that is down to the strong culture at the club.”
It was only seven years ago that Warwickshire were in some disarray after being relegated from the championship. Since then they have won five trophies and finished second in the championship twice.
Have you seen Jim Troughton's retirement song yet? If not click the video link here http://t.co/2z4weqHupb#YouBearspic.twitter.com/CbJP6qx2uq
— Warwickshire CCC (@CricketingBears) October 10, 2014
Perhaps tellingly for Lancashire fans, Troughton believes a lot of that credit is owed to Ashley Giles, whose pragmatism promoted long-term change after he was installed as coach for the 2008 season.
“It is a solid culture that has been bred from when Ashley Giles first came in,” he said.
“In 2008 when he took over we were as a team rock bottom. There were a lot of senior players lacking belief, identity, the culture and work ethic.”
Parallels are therefore easily drawn with Giles' arrival at Emirates Old Trafford as head coach last month, after the Red Rose suffered a second relegation in three years, and where a shake-up in personnel has already begun.
“When he first came in Gilo was very autocratic,” Troughton added.
“He told us exactly what we should be doing. We set out some strong pillars and strong non-negotiables that have stood the test of time.
“That period from 2008, it was a real pleasure of working with him as captain.
"That coach-captain relationship is absolutely paramount in cricket. That has to be solid, it has to be tight and there has to be mutual respect.
"You have to be able to challenge each other, brainstorm with each other and have a united front. I think if you see any side in cricket that has done well that partnership is strong - Vaughan and Fletcher, Strauss and Flower, Lehmann and Clarke and also Woolmer and Reeve - it sets the tone for the team.
“The culture is so important. It’s the foundation of your team, your squad and your club because it is what you fall back on if things aren’t going well.
“When things are going well cracks can be papered over so you may not see the little things. It’s when things don’t go well that you need to be able to fall back on your culture.”
It is perhaps no surprise then that Jonathan Trott has been able to revive his England ambitions inside the Warwickshire dressing room.
Trott’s England career was in jeopardy when he aborted a comeback at the start of the summer - following his early Ashes exit - but returned to make five centuries in the second half of the summer.
A call-up for the England Lions’ tour of South Africaearly next year has followed, along with a new three-year deal at Edgbaston, but Troughton thinks that is a reward for Trott’s desire rather than anything the club should lay claim to.
“We’re not going to take the credit for that,” he said.
“It’s come down to Trotty being able to face up to some realities and deal with them head on and he’s been able to do that fantastically well. He’s been able to do that.
“We have been as supportive as we can.
“A lot of players in that dressing room know Trotty from when he first came over from South Africa so hopefully he has always felt supported and given the time and the space to put things into place to help him get back onto the field and enjoy his cricket again.
“He’s had some dark times and he’s had to have a real think about his cricket and where he wants to go and how long he wants to stay in cricket.
“It would have been one of the biggest questions, but he’s shown here that he’s a top-quality performer.”
Troughton’s role at Warwickshire next season is still to be decided, but over the winter he has begun level four of an elite coaching course through the University of Gloucester.
The two-and-a-half year degree will require practical work during the summer – so a role at Edgbaston is likely – after formally handing over the club captaincy to Varun Chopra following his injury-induced retirement.
Chopra impressed as captain in Troughton’s absence – his astute on-field leadership was most striking as they won the Blast - and he looks a ready-made fit to maintain the high standards that have been set at Edgbaston.
“Very much this is Varun’s opportunity - he’s stepped in very well and tactically on the field he is a very good captain,” Troughton said.
Excellent, excellent from you Jim Troughton. Going down? https://t.co/llH5IzZkud
— Charles Dagnall (@CharlesDagnall) August 21, 2014
“The challenge now is he is the club captain so his responsibilities reach to stuff off the field, but he’s the type of guy who can deal with those challenges.
“He’s a strong character and he’s a quick learner. I think he’ll do well in the role.”
Troughton might be excused for feeling some sense of frustration at having to hand over the reins in such rosy times.
It is, however, perhaps and indication of a 'club-first' mentality that he has helped encourage in the Bears' dressing room that he should not feel that way inclined.
“I’m just very proud that I have been a part of a very strong era of Warwickshire cricket,” he said.
“To be able to be there from the beginning, when we were in a position of being in Division Two of both competitions, means a lot.
“We’ve won five trophies in seven seasons since and that culture is inbuilt.
“Everyone at that club wants to play and win games of cricket for Warwickshire.
"Players always have individual motivations for why they want to do that, but ultimately it’s about winning games of cricket for Warwickshire and when you get that culture going it is infectious and hopefully it can continue.”