Ed Barnard is looking forward to the “special” atmosphere of outground cricket as he prepares to lead Warwickshire into Metro Bank One Day Cup action at Rugby School tomorrow.
The Bears face Northamptonshire in the first of three quickfire games in six days in Rugby with Kent to follow on Wednesday and Middlesex on Friday.
After a defeat to Yorkshire in their Metro Bank opener last Tuesday, skipper Barnard believes three games in the sylvan setting of Rugby could just be the catalyst to kick-start Warwickshire’s campaign.
“Losing the first game in a group is never ideal,” he said, “but it’s great to now have three back-to-back games at Rugby. We played there last year so know the conditions a little bit. It’s a wonderful setting and the pitch played well last year.
“It’s always nice to get to an outground. It’s quite special, in a different area of the county with a different sort of crowd alongside our much-appreciated regular supporters, so we’re really looking forward to it.”
Some strong performances in Rugby are needed to bury the disappointment of Scarborough where the Bears were sentenced to defeat by an early implosion to 38 for seven. Vansh Jani’s brilliant debut 82 underpinned something of a recovery but the damage was done and Yorkshire won by five wickets.
Barnard’s immediate objective is to supervise a commanding response to that defeat – and he is relishing the responsibilities of captaining a side which he believes is capable of going far in the competition.
“I loved being captain last year and it’s really exciting to do it again,” he said. “This time it’s nice to have Alex Davies back with us so he’s a really good person for me to lean on. I used Will Rhodes last year as he has done a lot of leadership, so to have Davo, and also Rob Yates who helps a lot, is great.
“This comp is a chance for younger players to shine – Vansh played brilliantly at Yorkshire in a really tough situation – but if you look at what we have got in the squad for this competition, it is very strong. We have lots of experience with some very exciting youngsters. It’s a really nice blend and I have no doubts that we should be challenging towards the top of the table by the end of the group.”