Warwickshire Captain Alex Davies is back at Edgbaston after a successful stint with England Lions in Australia – and believes the squad are in good shape ahead of the 2025 season.
Davies hit a career-best 1,115 runs in the County Championship last term to earn a first Lions call-up in six years.
And he took that red ball form with him Down Under as he hit two half centuries against a Cricket Australia XI as skipper of the England A side in three four-day games.
The 30-year-old is back in training with teammates Sam Hain, Dan Mousley, Kai Smith and other Bears who’ve been staying sharp training and playing competitive cricket overseas during the winter.
He said: “A lot of the squad have been away for either training, playing international cricket or in franchise leagues. It’s been a fairly small group back home indoors this year.
“They will all be better for the experience of testing themselves against quality opposition and in different environments.
“But the vast majority of the squad are back now, working together as a group and starting to ramp up towards the new season ahead.
“I think we’re in a strong place. We’ve locked in some world class overseas players for all formats. Last year we felt a bit unlucky for various reasons with our overseas targets, some we thought were locked in didn’t happen and others picked up injuries.
“But fingers crossed we’ve landed our targets this year, and have good overseas coverage for a lot of the season.
“And we’ve recruited well domestically with Ethan Bamber, his record speaks for itself, and Zen Malik who is hungry to make an impression in his first full season. I’m personally excited by the squad we’ve assembled.”
Davies scored 54 (60 balls) and 76 (109 balls) for England Lions in two games against the Cricket Australia XI. His focus is putting on performances for the Bears and hopefully getting back in the England frame.
He added: “Lions was a really good trip. It was great being back in an England environment for the first time in a few years.
“The cricket went well. It was nice to get some runs out there, you can always kick on and post some bigger scores, but it was a really nice opportunity to get some cricket under my belt in the winter and hopefully I can come back to Warwickshire and hit the ground running and have another good season.
“The focus is now back here, to put in performances and contribute to victories for the bears. If I am to kick on in that world (England) it’ll be through what I do here and my performances for Warwickshire.”
Davies welcomed the appointment of lifelong Bear Ian Westwood as First Team Coach and said they’re united in their aim to play positive cricket.
“I’m excited for Westy,” he continued. “He’s already proved himself as a good coach here and abroad in franchise cricket which allows him to test himself and coach some of the world’s best players.
“He’s been with the Club for many years so there’s continuity there with his appointment. He’ll want to put his own stamp on a couple of things, and make some tweaks, but largely the hymn sheet doesn’t need to be torn up, we’re doing a lot right. You don’t top your Blast group three years running if you’re not.
“I feel Westy and I see the game in a similar way: playing forward thinking cricket, being positive and trying to take the game on, so hopefully we’ll bring that brand of cricket to life next season.
“This time of year you start to get butterflies, just a few weeks out, we’ll be training outdoors soon, then in Abu Dhabi on pre-season. I think we’re in good shape and I’m looking forward to the new season coming around.”
2025 Membership
It’s an historic year for the Club in 2025, as Bears Men and Women will compete side-by-side. Bears together.
Join the journey with Memberships available, including 1882 Full Club (all domestic cricket), our new B5 White Ball (T20, 50-Over and The Hundred) and Junior Bears (U16s).
