Carlos Brathwaite warmed up for the Bears' Vitality Blast campaign with a breathtaking 116 from 54 balls for the Second XI yesterday.

And as the West Indies ace reflected on his knock as “not a bad start,” he also revealed how much he enjoyed lining up with the emerging talent in the Bears 2nds at the Edgbaston Foundation Sports Ground.

Brathwaite smashed 116 with eight fours and ten sixes in the 2nds’ win over Glamorgan. The Portland Road ground is not the biggest, but most of Brathwaite’s sixes would have cleared the boundaries at any venue as he displayed all the hitting power that persuaded the Bears to sign him up for this season’s Blast.

“It was a not a bad start! It was brilliant to get out there in a lower-pressure environment to try to execute some of the things I’ve been working on in practice. I haven’t had much of a chance recently to play outside the big tournaments so it was really good to get out there with the second team and see some of the talent that is bubbling under the surface at Warwickshire.

Carlos Brathwaite

” I’ve got a lot of respect for cricket at that level. The players maybe lack a bit of experience but you can definitely see the professionalism and skills there.

“If I can a play a few more Second XI games, and have a few more good performances, it will be a great way for me to go into the tournament. Also I can hopefully share some of my knowledge to help the second-team boys try to progress through to the Bears’ first team and be staples there in the future.”