Competition format
A huge caveat to any comparison comes due to the different competition format during the 2021 edition. With the world coming to terms with Covid-19, the County Championship was forced into a logistical change.
The competition was split into two phases. The first saw the 18 teams split into three groups of six. The top two teams from each group then progressed to Division One for the second phase, the teams third and fourth went into Division Two and the bottom two teams into Division Three.
The Bears finished second to Nottinghamshire in the first phase before topping Division One to seal a memorable title win. In 2022, the competition reverted back to a two division format.
Squad similarities
In terms of personnel, only four players made an appearance for the Bears in both the 2021 and 2026 triumphs.
Rob Yates, Sam Hain, Chris Woakes and Olly Hannon-Dalby all played their part in 2021, with all heavily involved in the 2026 success, five years later.
Hain was the Club’s leading run-scorer in both campaigns, scoring 826 runs in 2021 compared to 1,048 in 2026. Similarly, Yates was the Club’s second highest run-scorer in both. In 2021, he scored 793 runs, including four hundreds, while in 2026 he notched 740 runs at an average of 50.27.
Due to England commitments, Woakes only made two appearances for the Club in the 2021 County Championship but made an impact by taking 12 wickets. He was a spearhead of the attack this term, taking 27 wickets at an average of 22.92. Hannon-Dalby, who spent the start of the season on loan at Worcester, returned to take 28 wickets at 19.80, compared to 24 wickets five years ago.
Runs and wickets
Interestingly, in 2021 and 2026, the Bears had the same number of players score over 600 runs with the bat. As previously mentioned, Hain and Yates led the way in both, with 2021 captain Will Rhodes (633) and Michael Burgess (607) getting over the 600 mark in 2021, while 2026 captain Ed Barnard (679) and Dan Mousley (664) did the same this year.
Five players in both seasons took over 20 wickets too, with both teams lauded for producing a brand of cricket that capture the ‘full squad’ ethos.
Liam Norwell (49), Craig Miles (37), Danny Briggs (30), Rhodes (26) and Hannon-Dalby (24) did so in 2021, with Ethan Bamber (69), Barnard (30), Hannon-Dalby (28), Manav Suthar (27) and Woakes (27) in 2026.
Captain’s contribution
Rhodes and Barnard became the seventh and eighth captains respectively to lead Warwickshire to the title, and both made all-round contributions during their trophy-winning campaigns.
Rhodes was in fine form with both bat and ball, while Barnard also led from the front in both facets of the game.
Rhodes struck 633 runs at an average of 26.37 with five 50s, while contributing 26 wickets at an average of 18.50.
Barnard made 679 runs at an average of 37.72 this year in the middle order, while taking 30 wickets at 24s with his swing and seam bowling.
_s6bZ9Ri.png?clxf=t_general_medium)
%20(1).png?clxf=t_general_medium)
.png?clxf=t_general_medium)
_Q3P0zzz.png?clxf=t_general_medium)
