Returning Lions

Warwickshire welcome back England superstars Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott as they gear up for their Friends Provident t20 clash with Derbyshire Falcons.

Both batsmen were  in the runs during the recently concluded Test series against Bangladesh and will be itching to carry their good form into the Bears’ Twenty20 campaign, which gets underway again at Derby on 9 June at 7.10pm.

Trott, whose 525 runs made him the competition’s leading run-scorer in 2009, seized the limelight during the first Test at Lord’s. The 29-year-old made a brilliant 226, his maiden Test double-century, and provided the backbone to England’s formidable first innings of 505; a total that ultimately paved the way for a comfortable eight-wicket victory.

The action then moved on to Old Trafford, where a man of the match performance from Bell helped England to a series-clinching triumph. The 28-year-old right-hander’s assured 126 – on a pitch offering considerable assistance to the bowler – rescued England from the precarious position of 83-3 and ultimately proved the match’s decisive knock.

The pair joins Ireland seamer Boyd Rankin and the 11 players who took part in the Bears’ impressive eight-wicket demolition of the Northants Steelbacks at Edgbaston on 3 June in Ashley Giles’ 14-man squad.

The victory was set-up by the miserly bowling of leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who returned the brilliant figures of 3-14 from his four overs, and the dynamic strokeplay of Darren Maddy, who blitzed his way to 88 runs off just 42 deliveries to break the back off what might have proved a difficult run-chase.

With Jim Troughton (41* off 26 balls) also in the runs, the Bears look in good shape going into their second match. However, they will have to be on their guard against a Derbyshire side that has started the tournament in impressive style, easing past Leicestershire Foxes by 11 runs in their opening fixture before overwhelming heavily-fancied Yorkshire Carnegie by 65 runs the next day. With the dangerous Loots Bosman opening the batting alongside the enduring class of Chris Rogers, and canny operators in Robin Peterson and Greg Smith providing options with both bat and ball, they will be a force to be reckoned with. It should make for a cracking match.

Warwickshire squad to face Derbyshire Falcons in the Friends Provident t20 fixture on 9 June 2010 at Derby:

Ian Westwood (captain); Neil Carter; Darren Maddy; Jonathan Trott; Ian Bell; Jim Troughton; Varun Chopra; Rikki Clarke; Richard Johnson (wicketkeeper); Ant Botha; Keith Barker; Chris Woakes; Imran Tahir, Boyd Rankin