Mark Robinson talks rain-affected draw

First Team Coach Mark Robinson admits his side pre-emptied the bad weather that concluded Warwickshire's LV= Insurance County Championship fixture against Lancashire.

With forecasts predicting the worst, it was therefore no surprise come Saturday that the heavens opened to force an early handshake after lunch.

The Bears, vying to close on leaders Surrey and knowing that Saturday could be a washout, opted to bowl first to give themselves the best chance to force a win.

“We’re frustrated as we had a little window,” said the First Team Coach. “We gambled at the toss, in terms of having a bowl, because we felt as it was going to be a three-day game it was our best chance of winning. It was a wicket, that being used, you would bat on with 120 overs, but we felt we had to get ahead of the game.

“Having got them at 150/7 and a window to knock them over we got a bit tired as much as anything. Then losing Rushy and dropping a catch with a second new ball you let them get away a little bit. If we had played today we would have fancied our chances at a win, it would be difficult, but we lost the opportunity.”

Chris Rushworth’s return is yet to be confirmed and he’ll join Craig Miles and Liam Norwell on the sidelines. Both will be looking to feature in the One Day Cup, although Miles is slightly ahead in terms of overs in the bank. The 29-year-old featured for the Second XI this week, but he’s still on the comeback trail after just 14 overs.

“We’ll have a completely different attack on Tuesday,” Robinson added. “We’ve had Hassan, Rushy and a bit of Woakesy but none of those will be playing.

“We haven’t been able to get him in for a scan, but the sooner we do, we’ll know what the damage is. We’re hoping it’ll be two to three weeks. Olly Hannon-Dalby will carry us like he’s done the last few years alongide Henry [Brookes] and Mir Hamza who got better as the game went on.”