Aside from the headline NatWest T20 Blast signing of Brendon McCullum, Warwickshire have a settled squad as they face the stern challenge of bettering last year’s exploits.
Kevin Howells (BBC radio)
One the country’s most consistent teams who will again go well. Strong wicket-taking unit. Sam Hain is obviously going to get a lot of attention and hopefully will thrive on it.
David Fulton (Sky Sports News)
Patel’s the bloke I’d mention as the guy who tops the rankings as county cricket’s most valuable player. It’s so good to have your overseas there 24-7. They won’t see much of Woakes, but have enough depth to cope.
There has been a strong Kiwi flavour to the spring at Edgbaston, as the Bears aim to kick on from a 2014 season in which they could claim to be the most successful side in the county game across all three competitions.
Warwickshire may have come second to Yorkshire in the LV= County Championship, but reaching the final of the Royal London One-Day Cup and winning the NatWest T20 Blast in their first season as Birmingham Bears represented a remarkably consistent effort from Dougie Brown’s squad.
It also sets some daunting standards to match in 2015, with the most obvious goal of going one better in the championship. But the club have responded to that challenge off the field with the high-profile signing of Brendon McCullum to strengthen their defence of the Blast title – although the Edgbaston cognoscenti will be at least as pleased to welcome back his compatriot Jeetan Patel for their first championship fixture at home to Hampshire on Sunday week.
Patel will return for another stint at his second home – he made his Bears debut way back in 2009 – having been recognised this week for his significant, but often overlooked, contribution in 2014, with selection as one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year.
“We’re all delighted for Jeetan, and it’s fully deserved,” said Brown.
“He had an outstanding year for us last year in all forms of the game. He’s not the kind of guy that shouts about it either, which makes it even better to see him being recognised in this way.
“We’ve been lucky enough to have some outstanding overseas players at this club in the last 20 years or so, who have stayed with us for a long time – someone like Allan Donald would spring to mind. That sort of thing doesn’t tend to happen in the modern game but Jeetan has been with us a while, and because he doesn’t play international cricket his availability is great.
“He’s due back from New Zealand in the next few days, and let’s hope he has another great year.”
Patel was one of two ever-presents in the Bears team who finished second in the championship, taking 59 wickets at an average of 26.32, and making 510 runs at 30 including a century.
He also played a key role as the Bears reached the finals of both domestic limited-overs competitions, topping the bowling averages in both the Royal London Cup with 23 wickets at 17, and in the NatWest T20 Blast title-winning campaign with 25 scalps at an even more impressive average of 13.
Not surprisingly, those statistics made him officially the most valuable player in the domestic game, according to the MVP index sponsored by FTI, earning Patel a £10,000 bonus.
But clearly Warwickshire were far more than a one-man team. Indeed it was the strength in depth of their squad which Brown believes held the key to their ability to sustain a challenge on all three fronts.
“As other teams were having their resources stretched, we were lucky enough to be able to bring in guys capable of playing in this environment,” said the Scot. “Hopefully that will stand us in good stead again this year.”
That is why the Bears have been steady as she goes, with the notable exceptions of McCullum’s short-term signing, and the retirements of Paul Best and the former captain Jim Troughton.
Behind the scenes there have been a couple of low-profile additions to the staff: Mark Adair, a 19-year-old Irish seamer; and Aaron Thomason, an all-rounder who is currently in Australia with England’s under-19s. Josh Poysden, a leg-spinner from Sussex who has come through the MCCU scheme at Cambridge, has also signed a full-time contract.
Brown recognises the additional load on the squad likely from international calls – with Jonathan Trottback in the England reckoning, and Chris Woakes establishing himself as a regular during the winter, although he is currently at home in Birmingham recovering from the toe injury he suffered during the World Cup.
That could lead to some bonus appearances this spring, but Brown is stressing the ability of all of his squad to improve, even on last year’s performances.
“We want to develop from where we left off,” he said. “We’ve identified a number of areas we need to work on. We recognise that all 18 counties will be saying positive things at this stage of the year, but we would like to be in a position to be competitive coming down the stretch.”
Warwickshire
Captain: Varun Chopra
Director of cricket: Dougie Brown
In: Brendon McCullum (New Zealand), Josh Poysden (trial)
Out: Jim Troughton (retired), Paul Best (retired)