Warwickshire 2nd XI Triumph in ECB 2nd XI T20 Finals

Warwickshire 2nd XI won the ECB Second XI T20 Finals Day, beating both Durham and Nottinghamshire by 3 wickets in a pair of thrilling close matches.

It was the Bears’ third appearance at Second XI T20 Finals Day, previously winning the competition in 2021, when they beat Sussex by 54 runs to claim the trophy.

Durham won the toss and elected to bat first for the semi-final, with Olly Hannon-Dalby removing the highly rated Ben McKinney, who was caught and bowled with the last ball of the first over.

By the end of the powerplay, Hannon-Dalby had added a second wicket to his tally when Haydon Mustard was caught at mid-on, and Adam Sylvester removed George Drissell in the same manner to leave Durham 49/3 after 6 overs.

From there, Durham struggled to get a handle on their batting innings, losing wickets regularly until they were all out for 102 in 18.3 overs.

Ethan Bamber was the pick of the bowlers, taking an impressive 3/14 of 3.3 overs to wrap up the innings. Tazeem Ali and Jake Lintott also impressed with their wrist spin, claiming combined figures of 3/38 off 8 overs.

Rob Yates got the Bears off to a flying start, taking 23 off the first two overs to break the back of the chase, but once he fell for 24 before the end of the third over, the Bears’ batting innings started to fall away.

Much like Durham, they lost wickets steadily throughout the chase on a wicket offering spin, with Jake Lintott showing his experience and cool head with the bat, making 18* to get the Bears over the line with 16 balls to spare, and qualify for the final.

Notts Outlaws also won the toss and batted, taking 60 off the powerplay for the loss of two wickets, both falling to Hannon-Dalby in the fifth over.

Freddie McCann was caught behind the wicket, and Ben Martindale lofted one to deep mid-wicket where Theo Wylie was duly waiting to take the catch.

Wickets fell in clusters for the Outlaws, with Sylvester removing Lyndon James and Sam Seecharan being brilliantly run out by Zen Malik in the 10th over, and Lintott and Ali taking wickets in consecutive balls across the 15th and 16th overs.

Ali was again exceptional with his leg spin, taking 3/24 from his four overs.

The innings was wrapped up by Hannon-Dalby, who took two wickets in the 17th over to bowl the Outlaws out for 148, and finished with figures of 4/17 off 2.5 overs.

The Bears get off to a strong start in their reply, with Wylie laying into the Notts bowling attack.

After he and Yates departed, Vaansh Jani took up the attacking mantle, striking a powerful 28 off 19 balls, including three stylish sixes.

However, once he fell, leaving the score at 77/5, the Bears were looking to their lower order to finish the job.

Between them, Oliver Dandy and Jake Lintott added 31 to get the Bears up to 108/6 before Joe Pocklington bowled the latter.

When Dandy fell two runs later, it looked tricky for the Bears to get up to the required total, but up stepped Ethan Bamber.

Known more for his metronomic bowling and wicket-taking ability, Bamber looked in prime batting form as he swung James Hayes and Rob Lord over the legside for two sixes.

He added another two boundaries to his tally before handing over to Taz Ali, who lifted Hayes over mid-off for four to secure victory and the trophy, Bamber finishing 28* as joint top scorer in the innings.

It’s been a highly successful tournament for new recruits, as rookie Jani led the run scoring with 268 runs striking at 145.65, and Sylvester took 18 wickets at 10.83 apiece, finishing second top wicket-taker in the tournament

Speaking about the achievement, Performance Director James Thomas, emphasised the importance of the second team structure: “The second team plays a vital role in providing competitive cricket for our professional players who are either battling for 1^st team selection and those young developing talents getting their first experience of high-level senior cricket. Congratulations to all the players, coaches and support staff.”

The victory represents an important milestone for Warwickshire’s player development pathway, showcasing the depth of talent within the county setup and providing valuable experience for the next generation of players.