Hain looking forward to leading Bears into One Day Cup

Sam Hain is excited by the prospect of leading a Warwickshire side mixing youth and experience when the Bears get their Metro Bank One Day Cup challenge under way against Northamptonshire on Tuesday 21 July.

2026-07-20T15:25+01:00

Warwickshire travel to the cinch County Ground to take on Northants ten years on from the last time they tasted victory in the competition, with play set to get under way at 11:00am.

Hain, who was last week announced as the captain of the Bears side for the Club’s campaign in the absence of Ed Barnard due to his The Hundred commitments, was part of that side back in 2016, ending the competition as the leading run-scorer as a 20-year-old.

The right-handed batter, who averages over 57 in the 50-over format, is looking ahead to the start of a new opportunity for silverware.

“It’s a chance for a Warwickshire side to go out and potentially win a trophy which is always exciting,” he said.

“For me, captaining the side is something I haven’t done a lot, but I’ve got some experienced senior players within the group that’ll help guide me in Alex Davies and Rob Yates. There’s a good blend of youth and experience so it’s exciting.

“Hopefully I can help put the team in a position to win games of cricket, much like the rest of the batting unit.

“It’s all coming together quite nicely. At this point of the season you’re just trying to keep the mind as fresh as possible, and I’m ready and looking forward to it.”

Warwickshire take on a Northants side that are fresh from winning the Vitality Blast on Sunday, and Hain is expecting a tough test from a side full of confidence.

“Northants are always a good test,” he said.

“They’ll have the same as us with a mix of youth and experience, which is always exciting.

“We don’t take any team lightly. We’ll be looking to do the best we can, turn up on the day and granted, whoever plays the best cricket will come out on top and that’s what we’re looking to do. Hopefully we can start the competition strong.”

Warwickshire have named a 13-player squad for the trip to Northamptonshire, with the playing XI set to be announced at the toss.

Bears squad: Sam Hain, Jake Lintott, Jake Garlick, Rob Yates, Ethan Bamber, Olly Hannon-Dalby, Taz Ali, Vansh Jani, Zen Malik, Alex Davies, Kai Smith, George Garton, Theo Wylie