Squad: Warwickshire v Sussex, Rothesay County Championship

Ian Westwood has named a 14-player squad in his opening game as Warwickshire’s First Team Coach.

Sri Lankan fast bowler Vishwa Fernando, who’s made 27 Test appearances for his country, is in line to make his Bears debut having arrived at Edgbaston on a short-term deal for the first three County Championship games.

Fellow seamer Ethan Bamber is also set to make his first Warwickshire appearance after impressing on tour in Abu Dhabi and in the pre-season friendly against Northants when he took three wickets.

Taz Ali (18) and 20-year-old Kai Smith – given the gloves for that warm-up game at Edgbaston last week – are the other two players hoping to get a first taste of red ball cricket for the Club.

Olly Hannon-Dalby (quad) and Chris Rushworth (calf) both miss the 2025 curtain raiser against Sussex but are the only two Bears currently on the treatment table.

Squad

Davies (c)
Taz Ali
Bamber
Barnard
Booth
Briggs
Fernando
Hain
Lintott
Mousley
Shaikh
Simmons
Smith
Yates

How to follow

Members and supporters can follow the match live in our Match Centre at edgbaston.com, which will include a free-to-watch stream and a live text commentary. You can also see a ball-by-ball feed and watch highlights of all the action.

Supporters can get involved by sending their match-day comments and thoughts on Twitter via @WarwickshireCCC and we’ll publish the best ones on our live text commentary in the Match Centre.

Supporters can also watch the Live Stream and get instant push notifications of all wickets, innings and match results via the Edgbaston app, which is free to download on iOS and Android.

Match updates will also be available across the Club’s social media accounts, simply search for @WarwickshireCCC.

Injury Update: Warwickshire v Sussex, Rothesay County Championship

Warwickshire go into the first game of the season without experienced seamers Chris Rushworth and Olly Hannon-Dalby.

Rushworth has a calf pull and only recently returned to light training having been sidelined for much of the pre-season tour to Abu Dhabi.

The 38-year-old – who took 13 wickets in six red ball appearances last season – is expected to be out of action for several weeks.

And Olly Hannon-Dalby will also sit out the Rothesay County Championship Division One opener having suffered a quad muscle tear in training earlier this week.

However, fellow seamers Ethan Bamber (below), who joined from Middlesex last summer, and Sri Lanka quick Vishwa Fernando are both in line to make their Bears debuts.

First Team Coach Ian Westwood, said: “We’ve known for a while that Rushy would miss the start due to a calf problem. He’s seen a specialist and we’ll work him gradually back to bowling; we don’t want to rush it and risk him breaking down again.

“But Olly’s is a new injury which is a blow so close to the start of the new season. A scan has revealed a small tear and he’ll likely be out for April.

“Vishwa has settled well into the squad and Ethan has looked sharp in pre-season and taken wickets. They’ll be complemented by Ed Barnard, while Michael Booth and Che Simmons are also in contention.”

Westwood has a clean bill of health on the batting front with Sam Hain, Dan Mousley and Hamza Shaikh all expected to feature in the top order after recently signing contract extensions at the Club.

Bears vs: Sussex make Division One return after 10 year absence

Sussex head to Edgbaston for the opening round of the Rothesay County Championship 2025 in what is their first taste of Division One in a decade.

The south coast Club achieved promotion last September having won eight and losing only two of their 14 games under Director of Cricket Paul Farbrace in his second season since leaving Warwickshire.

Friday’s curtain raiser also sees a swift return to Edgbaston for Mark Robinson who landed a short-term coaching role with his former side just weeks after leaving as Bears’ First Team Coach.

Division Two promotion

Sussex’s promotion push was led by captain and wicketkeeper John Simpson who scored 1,197 runs (74.81 ave) – the third highest in Division Two.

He was an ever present in the red ball side alongside opener Tom Haines (819 runs) and Tom Alsop (799 runs) who both returned averages over 40.

With the ball, off spinner Jack Carson took 50 wickets, while 33-year-old England bowler Ollie Robinson claimed 39 scalps.

India internationals Jaydev Unadkat and Cheteshwar Pujara also played important cameos in the charge to the Division Two title.

Fast bowler Unadkat took 22 wickets in five games at 14.40 apiece, while 37-year-old Pujara – who has more than 100 Tests to his name – hit 501 runs in nine innings at an average of 62.62.

Undakat has agreed to return to Hove this summer but will only be available for the season run-in.

Sussex’s other overseas signings for 2025 are Aussie opener Daniel Hughes (pic above) who averaged 56.66 in six innings last season and will be available for the whole campaign.

West Indies quick Jayden Seales bagged 24 wickets in six games for Sussex at the start of last season and is expected to line-up against the Bears.

But fellow seamer, Aussie Nathan McAndrew who took 11 wickets in just two games for the visitors last term, does not arrive until June.

Sussex’s only domestic captures are that of rookies George Thomas – the 21-year-old who’s made 19 List A appearances for Somerset – and teenage fast bowler Nantes Oosthuizen who is yet to make a senior start.

Pre-season build-up

Sussex arrive at Edgbaston on the back of four two-day red ball warm-ups in March against Kent, Surrey and home and away to Hampshire.

Simpson hit an unbeaten 72 at Kent’s Spitfire ground, while Oli Carter and Haines put on 160 for the first wicket at home to Surrey. However, Sussex’s bowlers struggled against the title holders as they racked up 360/4 in 60 overs.

Most recently (29-30 March) Tom Clark fired an unbeaten century at Hove against Hampshire in a 129-run second wicket stand with Hughes.