Chris Woakes has hailed a "brilliant effort from the whole team" to beat Yorkshire and keep Warwickshire's pursuit of the LV=Insurance County Championship title very much alive into the last round of games.
The Bears will face Somerset at home next Tuesday still right in the title race after their superb 106-run win at Headingley.
It was a true team performance including crucial runs from Michael Burgess and Dom Sibley, a collectively potent display from the seamers and top-drawer close catching – and England all-rounder Woakes (match figures of 26-9-66-6) was proud to be part of it.
“It was a brilliant effort from the whole team. To win such a low-scoring match by more than 100 runs is pretty emphatic and all credit to the lads in all departments.
Chris Woakes
“It was a result wicket, for sure, but the bowlers used the conditions well all game. All credit also to the batters who put decent totals on the board in tricky conditions. That was vital.
“Then in low-scoring games, catches can make all the difference and again the lads were fantastic there. Tim Bresnan was outstanding at first slip and the great catch that Sam Hain took to get rid of Gary Ballance in the first over of that last day was crucial. In a very high-pressure game, guys stepped up all over the pitch.
“I was just happy to make a contribution back with the Bears. It was a bizarre week with the Test match called off at short notice and, of course, it is always disappointing not to play for England, but it was great to be back involved with Warwickshire and be part of a performance like that.
“It means it’s all to play for next week. The guys have put in a lot of hard yards this season and played some superb red ball cricket to get into this position and now we go into the last game still in the mix. They really deserve to be there.”
Four pulsating days beckon next week with the Bears, Hampshire, Lancashire and Nottinghamshire all starting the final games with their eyes on the title. With the quartet separated by just 6.5 points, every bonus point could be vital.
There are more permutations than you could shake a stick, but Woakes insists the Bears must concentrate solely on their own work.
“All we can do is try to beat Somerset and see where that take us,” he said. “It is just a fantastic effort from the guys to get us into a position where we have got a chance. Our championship cricket has been a bit up and down in recent years, so to go into the last round with a chance of bringing the title to Edgbaston is really exciting. It could be an amazing week.”
