Frustrated by the weather but happy with his team’s performance – those were Ian Bell’s reactions to Warwickshire’s Specsavers County Championship draw with Yorkshire at Edgbaston.
The Bears sit top of the Division One table after having the better of a draw with the champions but, just as in their first game against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl, being unable to push hard for victory due to more than a quarter of the game being lost to bad weather.
Snow even landed in the equation during a wintry week at Edgbaston as the elements continue to keep the county season partially on hold. But captain Bell is happy with the start made by his team – not least with the bat.
After only three games, one player (Jonathan Trott) has made a double century and two (Bell and Varun Chopra) have a ton under their belts while seven (Bell, Trott, Chopra, Tim Ambrose, Rikki Clarke, Chris Woakes and Keith Barker) have each lodged a fifty.
“The important thing is that people are getting greedy,” said Bell. “We have had three hundreds for three different players in three games which is massively important.
“We haven’t got a win yet but have played some nice cricket with some guys in good form. It is very unusual to have everyone available and, touch wood, injury-free so we are in a good place at the moment.
“It was frustrating with the weather in the Yorkshire game but when we could get out there I was very pleased with the cricket we played against a strong side. We have started the season solidly. To score 400 in successive games, as we have, is a good habit to get into. We are doing the right things.
“We have maybe at times not been as ruthless as we could be – we had Hampshire 60 for six and Yorkshire 80 for four – so there are still things to work on. But I am really pleased with how the guys have performed in the first three games.”
The Yorkshire game evolved into a quest for bonus points on the final day and the Bears’ acquisition of a full haul of batting points before tea allowed for a little experimentation with the ball in the final session.
“It was a good opportunity to see something different,” Bell said. “We wanted to see how the pitch reacted to spin so Jeets opened the bowling. And we had Boydy running in with the new ball so we tried a couple of things and it was actually a very valuable hour for us.”
