Barnard joins exclusive Bears club with County Championship triumph

Ed Barnard was announced as Warwickshire County Cricket Club’s all-format captain just two weeks before the 2026 campaign and went on to lead his side to the Rothesay County Championship title.

2026-10-06T10:20+01:00

By lifting the Division One trophy, Barnard becomes just the eighth Warwickshire captain to do so, in the 126th edition of the competition.

The 30-year-old had captained the One Day Cup team in 2024 and 2025 but took on responsibility for the four-day and T20 formats following Alex Davies’ decision to step down prior to the start of the 2026 campaign.

Speaking at the end of March, Barnard was bullish on the Bears’ chances of challenging for silverware.

"I'm very proud and honoured to be offered the chance to captain Warwickshire,” he said. “I've really enjoyed working under Davo and hope to continue the progress the group has made over recent seasons.

"We have built an impressive squad, and with further additions made this winter, the competition for places is greater than ever. I know the group feels we can push very hard for silverware this season."

While success in the Blast evaded Barnard’s men – despite winning six of their last seven fixtures – crucially they remained in contention for four-day glory through the opening eight fixtures.

The Bears then turned up the heat on their title rivals across the final six fixtures, winning five – including their final four – and drawing one to sit top at the season’s end.

When Barnard was called forward to collect the trophy following Warwickshire’s comprehensive win against Leicestershire at Edgbaston, he joined Frank Foster (1911), Tom Dollery (1951), Alan Smith (1972), Dermot Reeve (1994 and 1995), Nick Knight (2004), Jim Troughton (2012), Will Rhodes (2021) as the only Bears captains to have done so.

Speaking on the outfield at Edgbaston amidst the celebrations, Barnard said: “When you take on the captaincy you do dream of days like this and being part of these trophies, so to have done it in the first year is pretty surreal.”