A bumper crowd were in attendance at Edgbaston Stadium to see the first Warwickshire Bears double-header of the 2026 Vitality Blast season.
Both the men’s and women’s teams were in T20 action against Somerset, with almost 6,000 people coming through the gates to show their support for the Bears.
With the sun shining on Edgbaston, there were performances from the University of Birmingham’s Musical Theatre Group for Legally Blonde, a seven-foot climbing wall and a caving experience for kids.
There were sets by DJ Patty, inside the Exhibition Hall there was live music and the Kid Zone also included inflatables and face painters. West Midlands Fire Service were also in attendance, giving the Junior Bears the chance to see the equipment they use.
On the pitch, it wasn’t to be for either side, with both teams falling to seven wicket defeats.
Somerset are the reigning Vitality Blast champions in the men’s competition, and it was an innings of 93 off 48 balls by James Rew that proved to be a match-winning contribution for the visitors, after the Bears had set Somerset 190 to win.
Sam Hain had earlier struck 52 off 35 balls, and was ably assisted by Rob Yates (42 off 25) and Beau Webster (41 off 30), as Warwickshire set what looked to be a testing total.
But Rew had other ideas, with his innings including nine fours and four sixes.
Warwickshire Bears Captain, Ed Barnard, was disappointed by the manner of the defeat, but is now looking ahead to Friday’s local derby against Worcestershire as an opportunity to get a first win of the season.
“I don’t think we put out our best performance out there with the ball and in the field,” he said. “I thought we were sloppy, made some basic errors and made it quite easy for them.
“Obviously, Rew played really well. He’s a high-quality player, but I think we could have made it a bit more difficult for him.
“To get 180, we were pleased. I thought we were going to be in with a chance, but it didn’t turn out to be.
“We’ve got a derby game on Friday. There’s no better game to obviously get everyone up for. Hopefully we can get on a bit of a roll.”
Earlier in the day, Warwickshire Women posted 166 for nine after electing to bat, with Meg Austin top-scoring with 41 from 29 balls and Amu Surenkumar adding 28 from 20.
Somerset’s chase got off to a fortunate start with an early dropped catch and a no ball reprieve, and the visitors capitalised through Sophie Luff and Anika Learoyd. Luff struck 58 from 33 balls, sharing an 84-run partnership with Learoyd to put Somerset in control of the chase.
You can read more from Warwickshire Women Head Coach, Ali Maiden, here, as he remains optimistic that the Bears can turn their fortunes around, despite getting their Blast campaign off to a difficult start.
The next Vitality Blast fixture at Edgbaston Stadium is on Wednesday 27 May, with the Bears’ Women taking on The Blaze. Play starts at 2:30pm.