Bears to host Worcestershire in three-day friendly

Warwickshire will wrap up their pre-season preparations with a three-day friendly against Worcestershire (27 - 29 March) across two venues.

The Bears will host their local rivals at Edgbaston and nearby Edgbaston Community Sports Ground with matches taking place simultaneously. 

Spectators are welcome to attend each venue free of charge, with full details confirmed closer to the time.

“It’ll be great to see our Members, and supporters back at Edgbaston,” said First Team Coach Mark Robinson. “After a long winter, playing a friendly in front of spectators makes you realise how close we are to the start of the season.

“We’ve prepared well so far, so this will allow us to see some of the plans we’ve been working on over the past few months. 

“Friendly games tend to not follow the usual pattern and we’ve yet to decide the format. In some instances, a team can bat for a day and then field the other, or we can split each day up. Whatever we choose, it will be excellent preparation against a strong side.”

Following four hard-working months in the Edgbaston Cricket Centre, Warwickshire travel to Cape Town on Wednesday for 13 days of training and matches. 

The squad will head to Stellenbosch for three days on the practice field, before heading west to their base near Newlands. The Bears will play four T20s and four days of red ball cricket split between Yorkshire and Loughborough University.

In total, Robinson’s side will have 11 days of pre-season matches as well as an internal fixture before the season opener against Somerset in Taunton (6 – 9 April).

“Cape Town will be a fantastic experience,” Robinson added. “We have a detailed plan in place and we’re all looking forward to getting outside and building on the work we’ve done so far.

“Facing Yorkshire and Loughborough in different conditions will be the perfect test ahead of the new season. I can’t wait to get going.”