Ed Barnard is 'very excited' by his move to Warwickshire and insists 'this is a great opportunity so it's up to me to take it.'
The 26-year-old all-rounder has signed a three-year contract with the Bears after leaving Worcestershire where he graduated through the academy to become a first-team linchpin in all formats.
Across the formats, Barnard has taken 386 wickets with his right-arm seam bowling while he has scored 3,753 first class runs with five centuries, including one against the Bears at New Road in 2021.
Now he joins the Bears determined to rise to the challenges of Division One championship cricket.
“I’m very excited by the move and really looking forward to linking up with the lads,” Barnard said. “I really enjoyed my time at Worcestershire but this is the right time for me to come and test myself against new challenges. There will be different opportunities with different pressures that come with them. I need to keep testing myself because I want to be as good as I can be as a cricketer. First Division cricket will be a great way to do that.
“I hope I will be a good fit. There will be a lot of competition with so many high quality players in the squad but I made a role my own at Worcestershire and that’s what I’ll look to do at Warwickshire. I want to bat as high as I can and bowl as many overs as I can. This is a great opportunity so it’s up to me to take it.”
Barnard admits that the prospect of having Edgbaston as home was part of the lure to Birmingham – and he is looking forward to having the passionate Bears fans behind him, not least in the Bears v Pears derbies.
“Having Edgbaston as my home ground is something that really excites me,” he said. “It has hosted some of the best games I have played in, including my Worcestershire debut in the Blast in 2015. That was my first-team debut in any cricket so it was a bit nerve-racking.
“I have played in a couple of Finals Days there as well as all the derby games and they are always great fun. It’s an amazing atmosphere and I’m looking forward to having the crowd behind me rather than giving me stick! It’s always good fun with the Hollies and fielding on the boundary, like I do in T20, you always expect a bit of stick so it will be great to be in a side they will be behind.
“We’ve played against each other so much I’ve got to know the Bears lads pretty well and I just can’t wait to get going. I’ll be training at Edgbaston up to Christmas so that will be good to get my bearings and get to know everyone, then hopefully, visa-permitting, I’ll go to Adelaide after Christmas and play grade cricket for a couple of months.”
Ed will join up with the rest of the Bears squad on Monday 7 November for reviews and planning with fitness testing following later in the week.
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