Report: Warwickshire v Surrey, Rothesay County Championship

Tom Latham scored a debut century as Warwickshire reached 364 for four against Surrey on the opening day of their Rothesay County Championship Division One match at Edgbaston.

New Zealand batter Latham struck an unbeaten 139 (244 balls) after Surrey chose to bowl on another belter of a batting pitch at Edgbaston. Rob Yates scored 86 (151) against the champions’ much-changed team with Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson having departed on England duty.

Surrey are also without Dan Worrall who they decided to spare the hard labour on a batter-friendly surface, while the Bears are without seamer Michael Booth who will be sidelined for two to three months by a stress fracture of the ankle. Barbados-born Che Simmons has come into the team for his home Championship debut.

Against a Surrey attack including debutant Nathan Smith. Warwickshire started serenely as Yates and Alex Davies (45, 58) gathered an untroubled 70 in 19 overs. Davies twice hoisted Jordan Clark for six over the short Hollies Stand boundary but departed in angst after swinging and missing at a full toss from Dan Lawrence.

Yates and Latham added 112 before the former departed in a different type of angst to this captain. With a century beckoning, he tickled an unthreatening leg-side delivery from Tom Lawes to the wicketkeeper.

A Latham century looked likely from the moment he took guard. He moved sweetly into the 40s, took a breather and spent 35 balls there, then pulled Clark for six to reach his half-century and galloped from 50 to 80 in another 18 balls. It was batting of simple, solid, unhurried class.

Surrey’s rejigged bowling attack, with Smith on his debut and Lawes and Cameron Steel each playing their first game of the season, persevered nobly. Sam Hain flicked Clark straight to backward square leg and Lawrence bowled Beau Webster with a beauty through the gate.

But Ed Barnard (38, 63) joined the implacable Latham to add an unbroken 83 in the last 24 overs of the day. Latham reached his 27^th first class century from 161 balls to emulate his countryman Jeetan Patel in making a ton on his Warwickshire debut. Whether Latham matches Patel’s subsequent haul of 742 wickets for the club remains to be seen, but he has immediately provided the top order ballast they badly need.

Rob Yates, said: “We got off to a brisk start with Alex putting away the short ones and punishing anything overpitched. It was good to get another 50 partnership up top. 

“Then it was awesome to be out there with Tom. He looked class which was no surprise – he plays the ball so late and times it beautifully. We have had a good start to the season and to have the likes of Beau and Tom coming into the side is great. Beau made a match-winning contribution on his debut last week and hopefully Tom’s will turn out to be the same this week.

“I was pleased with the way I batted but a bit frustrated to leave maybe 80 out there. But we are in a decent position after the first day. It’s not easy to take wickets on this pitch and I think you have to be creative and also patient at the same time. You just have to go about it in a smart way.”  

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.

Preview: Latham in line for Warwickshire debut against former club

Kiwi Test Captain Tom Latham is fit to make his Warwickshire debut in the Rothesay County Championship this weekend – and a match-up against his former club Surrey.

Latham’s arrival at Edgbaston was delayed by four weeks after he broke his hand in the nets with his New Zealand club Canterbury in March.

However, the injury didn’t require surgery, and the 33-year-old, who landed in Birmingham on Tuesday, is in contention to make his first Bears start.

“It’s nice to finally be here,” said Latham after a nets session on Edgbaston’s Colts Ground. “It’s been great to meet all the guys and get stuck into a  bit of training.

“I was disappointed to be ruled out for the first few games. But now I’m here I want to make up for lost time, put my best foot forward and help the team win games of cricket for Warwickshire.

“I’ve been back hitting for a couple of weeks, everything is tracking in the right direction, and I’m looking forward to the game coming up in a few days.”

Latham made five red ball appearances for Surrey in 2023 (ave 39.75), hitting three 50s and a high score of 99 against Somerset.

“It’ll be nice to play Surrey first up,” added father-of-two Latham, who has moved to the area with his family during his Warwickshire stay. “There will be a few familiar faces in their side and it’ll be good to catch up with them.

“But I’m on the other side now. I’ll be doing all I can to play a role for the Bears and get another win on the board.

“Surrey are a quality side. We’ve seen it over the last few seasons with them winning the Championship title. But I’ve been keeping tabs Warwickshire’s performances from New Zealand and the guys are in good form especially that performance up in Leeds last week.

“Hopefully I can come in and add a little bit to the group, and we can put in another good performance against the defending champions.”

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.