Squad: Warwickshire vs Surrey, Rothesay County Championship

Warwickshire First Team Coach Ian Westwood has shuffled his pack with five changes to the squad that won at Yorkshire last weekend.

Tom Latham – who’s scored more than 10,000 runs in all formats for New Zealand – comes straight into the reckoning having arrived at Edgbaston on Tuesday.

Fast bowlers Che Simmons and Craig Miles are also drafted into a 14-man squad, while Hamza Shaikh is left out and Michael Booth ruled out with an ankle injury.

Westwood praised a superb “all round team performance” at Headingley to record a second straight win on the road.

And he’s looking for his side to dig deep and produce another strong display against the title holders.

“I thought we bowled really well throughout the game and kept pressure on them all the time” said Westwood of the five-wicket win in Leeds . “Our bowlers put in a lot of effort, backing up spell after spell, and we got our rewards

“It was potentially a very tricky chase in the second innings on a spicy wicket. But we got off to a good start and it was nicely brought home by Zen. It was a nice all round team performance. We went head to head with a side boasting lots of internationals and came out on top.

“It was a great knock from Beau Webster on debut for us, particularly on that wicket, a nice balance of attack and defence and put their bowlers under pressure. He scored quickly and his innings went a long way to us winning the game.

“When Hainy went down, Zen stepped in to bat four. He’ll probably not bat on a more difficult wicket all year. His second innings was really composed, he grew into it, expressed himself and showed the quality we know he possesses.”

Squad

Davies (c)
Taz Ali
Bamber
Barnard
Hain
Hannon-Dalby
Latham
Malik
Miles
Mousley
Simmons
Smith
Webster
Yates

How to follow

Members and supporters can follow the match live in our Match Centre at edgbaston.com, which will include a free-to-watch stream and a live text commentary. You can also see a ball-by-ball feed and watch highlights of all the action.

Supporters can get involved by sending their match-day comments and thoughts on X via @WarwickshireCCC and we’ll publish the best ones on our live text commentary in the Match Centre.

Supporters can also watch the Live Stream and get instant push notifications of all wickets, innings and match results via the Edgbaston app, which is free to download on iOS and Android.

Match updates will also be available across the Club’s social media accounts, simply search for @WarwickshireCCC.

Injury Update: Warwickshire vs Surrey, Rothesay County Championship

Warwickshire expect batter Sam Hain to have recovered from a back tweak that ruled him out of last week’s win at Yorkshire.

Hain jarred his back at home but has netted this week and is in contention to slot back into the side for the visit of Surrey.

Chris Woakes has been another familiar face in the nets as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury but still needs more time before he makes a Bears comeback.

However, fast bowler Michael Booth – who’s enjoyed a fantastic start to the season with 16 wickets in four games – has an ankle injury and drops out of the squad.

New Zealand Test Captain Tom Latham landed in the UK on Tuesday and has spent two sessions on the Colts training ground.

He’s reported no ill effects from the broken hand he suffered with hometown club Canterbury and is in line to make his debut for the Club.

Warwickshire First Team Coach Ian Westwood, said: “Tom has rehabbed well at home, he’s come to us fit and is excited about playing. He’s trained well with us, he’s eager to get going and is ready to go against Surrey.

“But it’s a bit too soon for Woakesy. He’ll keep building up and hopefully will be playing a couple of games for us quite soon.”

How to follow

Members and supporters can follow the match live in our Match Centre at edgbaston.com, which will include a free-to-watch stream and a live text commentary. You can also see a ball-by-ball feed and watch highlights of all the action.

Supporters can get involved by sending their match-day comments and thoughts on X via @WarwickshireCCC and we’ll publish the best ones on our live text commentary in the Match Centre.

Supporters can also watch the Live Stream and get instant push notifications of all wickets, innings and match results via the Edgbaston app, which is free to download on iOS and Android.

Match updates will also be available across the Club’s social media accounts, simply search for @WarwickshireCCC.

Bears vs: Warwickshire up for challenge of champs Surrey

Warwickshire take on Surrey at Edgbaston this weekend seeking a ‘statement’ win against the title holders and knowing maximum points could see them top the table.

Surrey have dominated English red ball cricket in recent seasons and completed the “three-peat” when they beat Somerset to top spot in Division One last September.

It was their 23^rd County Championship honour and you have to go back more than 50 years since a side last won back-to-back-to-back crowns.

However, by their high standards it’s been a somewhat stuttering start to their title defence in 2025.

They were forced to follow-on against Essex in the opening round of the new campaign (the hosts amassing 582/6 declared) but escaped with a share of the spoils.

Draws followed against Hampshire – in which ex-Bear Dom Sibley carried his bat in the first innings (100*) and hit 105 in the second – and a high-scoring clash against Sussex.

Their first win came at the fourth time of asking as Jordan Clark (pic above) took eight wickets against Somerset to help Surrey to an eight-wicket success.

“Every time you get over the line it’s the hardest one because other teams are trying to close the gap,” said Surrey Head Coach Gareth Batty after lifting the trophy last autumn. “They’re trying to improve their squads, improve their players.”

Perhaps the gap is closing more quickly than many would have thought.

Trio on England duty

Surrey arrive at Edgbaston without the services of England trio Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith and Test Vice Captain Ollie Pope.

They have been selected in the England squad for the Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge on 22 May. The England camp convenes on Saturday in preparation for the one-off game and so miss out.

However, overseas signings Kurtis Patterson and Nathan Smith (pic above) could make their debuts.

Australian batter Patterson – who played two Tests in 2019 against Sri Lanka, with a top score of 114 – has joined Surrey for three red ball games in May.

Last season, he hit 743 runs in eight Sheffield Shield matches Down Under for New South Wales at an average of 57.15 and scored 137 for Australia A against the England Lions during the winter.

Kiwi quick Smith made his New Zealand Test debut against England recently, picking up seven wickets in the first two matches of the series.

Smith represented Worcestershire in the 2024 season in seven games, taking 27 wickets and scoring 214 runs at an average of 30.5.

Familiar faces

But it’s some familiar faces who have again made the biggest contributions for Surrey so far this season.

Sibley has already accrued 412 runs in four games with an average of 68.66, while keeper Ben Foakes has started well with 259 runs to his name at an average of 51.80.

Jordan Clark has picked up 14 wickets supported by 33-year-old Dan Worrall with 10.

It’s six years ago to the month that Warwickshire last beat Surrey at Edgbaston – Jeetan Patel inspiring the Bears with 12 wickets – and Bears fans will be hoping they can underpin their good start to the season with an overdue W against the champions.