Warwickshire Members and supporters were given the opportunity to select their Team of the Decade from all three formats.
Warwickshire County Cricket Club’s Team of the Decade can now be formally announced.
Before the New Year, Members and supporters were asked via the website to vote for their Team of the Decade from all three formats.
The Club received a strong response with results following a similar trend of personnel and batting order.
Read below for the full line-up and their notable achievements during a decade which saw the Bears champions in four trophies across three formats.
Bears Team of the Decade
Varun Chopra #496
After arriving from Essex in 2010, Chops scored 10,020 runs, the vast majority of them acquired with great elegance, during his six-year spell with the Bears. The opener, who became captain at the end of the 2014 season, scored at least 1,000 first-class runs each year from 2011 to 2013 and was a vital component of the 2012 County Championship and 2014 T20 Blast winning sides.
Dom Sibley #529
Now an England century-maker, Sibs has gone from strength to strength since joining the Bears halfway through the 2017 season. The Epsom-born opener leads from the front, last year forcing his way into the England team by scoring 1,324 runs in 21 innings at an average of 69.68 and facing more than 1,000 balls more than anyone else in the County Championship. A class act as cricketer and bloke with so much more to give for county and country.
Jonathan Trott #446
Trotty is a true Bears legend – a huge contributor in all formats for his beloved county. Having scored a century on his England Test debut in 2009, he built a fine international career but his desire to shine for the Bears never diminished. The Trotty knock most cherished by the Members came in the 2016 Royal London Cup final eclipse of Surrey when his unbeaten 82 led the Bears to glory.
Ian Bell #434
A homegrown Bear who played 118 Tests for England and has scored more than 20,000 first-class runs, Belly continues to shine in all three formats. His batting is a joy to watch, whether composing classy centuries in the longer forms of the game or improvising brilliantly in the shorter forms. Belly holds the record for most T20 runs for the Bears, having surpassed Jim Troughton in 2018, and has power to add.
Sam Hain #518
There’s plenty more to come from Hainy who, having made his first-team debut at 17, has loads of experience under his belt but is still only 24. The middle-order batsman has grown into a Bears rock and is now a key contributor in all formats. An England Lions regular, Hainy is sure to be knocking on the Test team door at some point. His white-ball figures – a batting average of 59.78 from 58 List A games – are among the best in the world.
Rikki Clarke #488
Arriving in 2009, Clarkey spent eight years with the Bears and collected winners’ medals in all four trophies during that time. A match-changer with bat and ball, the popular all-rounder ranks among the best slip-fielders ever to wear the Bear. He entered the record books at Blackpool in 2011 when he took seven catches, equalling the world record for a non-wicketkeeper in a first-class innings.
Tim Ambrose #465
An ever-present throughout the decade, Amby is a model of consistency behind the stumps and with the bat. Equally adept whether standing back to the pacemen or up to the spinners, the former England man is invariably at his best with the bat when the pressure is on and his team needs it most. A great team man and a great Bear.
Chris Woakes #470
Another home-grown star, Woakesy made his championship debut in 2007 and then truly announced himself as a star of the future by bowling the Bears to promotion the following season. He went on to be a pillar of England’s teams across the formats and help clinch the ICC World Cup England in 2019. A top-class cricketer and great role-model.
Keith Barker #490
A valuable all-rounder, Barks scored a lot of useful runs but his biggest asset was the skilful left-arm swing bowling which brought him13 five-fors, including five in the 2012 County Championship-winning season. Barks scored seven centuries in all formats with the Bears and many good judges struggle to understand why an England call never came his way.
Jeetan Patel #489
The Bears best oveseas ever? Jeets’ legacy will be hard to match when he retires at the end of the upcoming campaign. Playing in all ten seasons through the decade, the indefatigable Kiwi was the highest wicket-taker in the past seven first-class seasons. A mighty competitor and true leader, on and off the field, Jeets captained the Bears to the Second Division title in 2018.
Chris Wright #507
Wrighty blossomed at the Bears after arriving from Essex in 2011 when his career was drifting. After taking a debut five-for against Yorkshire at Headingley, he immediately became a key cog in the bowling attack. His brilliant new-ball pairing with Keith Barker was a huge factor in powering the Bears to the 2012 championship title. Wrighty took 50 wickets that season to earn an England Lions call-up.
