Warwickshire County Cricket Club Head Coach, Ian Westwood, was pleased with the fight shown by his side as they batted 111 overs across almost four sessions to take a draw from their Rothesay County Championship fixture with Yorkshire.
The Bears remain firmly in title contention following the result which saw them take 12 points to Yorkshire’s 16, with Warwickshire now fourth in the Division One table but just five points behind current leaders Essex.
With all three results still possible heading into the final day – Warwickshire needing 409 for victory and Yorkshire nine wickets – it was an outstanding rearguard by the Bears that ensured the game ended in a draw.
“We’ve shown so much character there,” Westwood said. “Lots of teams would have fallen away.
“Conditions were tricky, and we had to show a lot of skill with the ball turning out of the rough.
“On a pitch that was wearing and going up and down, we wore a few on the body.”
There were several key contributions from the Bears’ batting line up, with the middle order of Sam Hain, Beau Webster and captain Ed Barnard occupying the crease for long periods after the team were reduced to 93 for four.
Webster contributed 49 off 85 balls, Barnard 58 off 109, but it was Hain’s 218-ball knock that merited 69 runs and edged the Bears closer to a draw.
Zen Malik saw the Bears over the line with an unbeaten on 20 off 53 balls, while debutant Manav Suthar flashed with an entertaining 37 late in the day, as Warwickshire finished eight wickets down.
“We were really disappointed with the first two days,” Westwood added. “Day one was as bad as we’ve bowled for a long, long time.
“The effort and preparation was there but there might have been a bit of rust coming from the T20s. We also found ways to get out with the bat on day two.
“But I’m really pleased with the way we went about it from that point.”
Warwickshire are back in Rothesay County Championship action this week, as they travel to the Cooper Associates County Ground to take on Somerset. Day one gets under way at 11:00am on Friday 19 June.