It’s a tough time for all the squad at Warwickshire at the moment and the defeat at Hampshire last weekend certainly didn’t make it any easier.
The four days at the Rose Bowl weren’t dissimilar to many of the other games we have played this season. We have produced some decent cricket at times but bad sessions in the game are costing us dearly.
here is no doubt that we are in a very tough run at the moment but I still have the belief that we can get out of trouble
Ian Bell
Being 49-6 in our first innings after Hampshire scored 515 certainly represented one of those extremely poor periods which ultimately cost us the game, even though we battled hard after that.
You have to give credit to Jimmy Adams and Sean Ervine for their 367-run partnership for the fourth Hampshire wicket which was totally out of context with the rest of the match.
When they came to the crease at 31-3 I felt confident we were one wicket away from really putting Hampshire under pressure and potentially getting them out for a low total, but that one partnership took it away from us totally.
There is no doubt that we are in a very tough run at the moment but I still have the belief that we can get out of trouble and, on our day, beat anybody in this division.
The spirit in the squad remains very strong and we know that our first priority is to get a win or two to get us closer to sixth position and secure our Specsavers County Championship Division One status.
There were positives to take from last weekend. Young Sunny Singh bowled extremely well for his six wickets and it was great to see Jonathan Trott continue his good form with a century, despite having to briefly return home for a family emergency during the match.
We are changing formats and donning our Birmingham Bears hats tomorrow to prepare for the new NatWest T20 Blast season with a day at Bridgnorth to take on Shropshire in two matches.
Apart from our overseas players, we will be taking a full squad over and everyone will play in at least one match. Unfortunately, I have to have an injection in my elbow which will prevent me from batting but I do intend to field.
I genuinely think we could do well in the T20 format this season and this will be a useful warm-up against Minor Counties opposition.
I used to really enjoy the first round of the old NatWest Trophy when First Class counties tried to avoid coming a cropper against Minor Counties so I’m looking forward to getting to Bridgnorth tomorrow.
The Champions Trophy is building nicely, despite the British weather. It’s been a shame that the tournament has been affected by rain so far but the action we have seen has been good.
I’m encouraged by England’s performances against Bangladesh and New Zealand so far and still genuinely believe there is a lot more to come from the squad.
Young Sunny Singh bowled extremely well for his six wickets and it was great to see Jonathan Trott continue his good form with a century
Ian Bell
Hopefully that will come to the fore against Australia at Edgbaston on Saturday when I’m looking forward to being a spectator for the day.
The Aussies know they have to win and they will bring their normal aggression to the party. They have world class players and England need to do everything within their powers to knock them out of the tournament on Saturday.
For me, England’s chances increase if Australia are out of the tournament before the final week begins.
It’s a shame that our own Chris Woakes has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament through injury but, knowing him as I do, he will undoubtedly come back stronger.
