The Warwickshire Senior Teams have had a busy season and have now reached the end of the group stages in their various competitions.
The 60+ 1st XI and the 50+ 2nd XI both finished top of their respective groups whilst the 60+ 2nd XI finished second in their group and also go through to the knock-out stages.
The 60+ 1st XI won seven and lost one of their group games with four games being lost to the weather. Duncan Gardner, Mark Eames, Mo Azam and Mike Daniels made substantial contributions with the bat whilst the bowlers have shown discipline and skill, with Duncan Gardner and Mo Azam showcasing their all-round abilities and Rob Ball, Dave Murphy and David Pyne proving to be a spin trio to be reckoned with.
A quarter-final against Wales on August 17 now awaits them after defeating Wiltshire convincingly in the first round of the knock-out stages.
The 60+ 2nd XI finished second in their group with 5 wins and 2 defeats and now travel to Chipstead to take on Surrey in the quarter finals on Tuesday 10th August. Chris Evans will be hoping to continue his rich vein of run-scoring and the bowlers, spearheaded by Chris Brooks and the evergreen Harold Turner, will be looking to maintain their success.
The 50+ 1st XI experienced a frustrating time in the group stages of their competition losing a number of close games despite a successful debut season for Ruban Field and runs from David Hawkes. Good all-round performances from Steve Hooper and Mike Palmer and support from Nigel Moore didn’t prove quite enough. A return of only one victory from seven games didn’t feel just rewards for the excellence of the cricket played during the season.
The 50+ 2nd XI showed the depth of talent in Warwickshire by winning seven and losing one of their group games. A host of good performances, especially by new boys Jon Fair and Paul Henderson, backed up by consistent runs from Graeme Burke and Mark Eames and wickets from Chris Smith and Mark Randle have propelled the team into the knockout stages with a quarter final tie to be played on 19 August with the opposition and venue to be determined.
The 70+ 1st XI toiled hard but again could only get over the line once during their group stage, a victory built on a superb 97* from Phil Cole against Worcestershire. They now go into the 70+ Vase competition.
