Hannon-Dalby effusive about fellow bowlers

Olly Hannon-Dalby poured praise on the other members of the Bears’ bowling group after collectively restricting Leicestershire to 125 all out on day one of the final Rothesay County Championship game of the season.

2026-09-24T19:00+01:00

In reply, Warwickshire closed on 130/4 with skipper Ed Barnard and the ever-consistent Sam Hain at the crease as the diligent work continued into the batting performance from the morning’s bowling display.

Ethan Bamber moved onto 64 wickets for the season – the joint most in the top division – which started with the removal of Sheridon Gumbs in the first over of the day and Hannon-Dalby was lavish in his praise of the 27-year-old, in addition to the rest of the bowling group.

“Ethan Bamber's been outstanding all year, he's absolutely flying at the moment and when you can throw the ball to Chris Woakes on occasion, one of the cricketers of his generation, an absolute Rolls-Royce of a cricketer, it's amazing,” he said. “Those two guys in particular were outstanding today.

“Bambs puts the ball in the right area, but I can say to you that it's absolutely no surprise to anyone in our changing room how well he does. He is the ultimate, ultimate professional, the things he does behind the scenes, the stones he unturns to try and get the best out of himself, both physically, mentally and tactically.

“He's the most diligent man I've ever met in my life. I think I'm a good pro, but he's absolutely outstanding. Makes me look like an amateur. He's awesome, so it's no surprise to any of us how well he does. He charges in all day long and keeps his ball in and around off stump.

“I think it says a lot about Chris Woakes as a human being too. We all know what a great bloke he is, but he could easily be sat in Saint-Tropez right now, with his feet up, enjoying retirement, and he's not, he's here trying to win a Championship for us, which says a lot about him, says a lot about what he thinks about the Club and what he's trying to do right now.

“It’s brilliant that he's here for us, and that's it for me. For me to field at mid-off or mid-on to him, chucking the ball and chat a bit of cricket is amazing.”

Warwickshire made Day One at Edgbaston Stadium free to all spectators, while offering a free drink to any members attending the first day’s play, and Hannon-Dalby was ever-grateful for the support and loved the atmosphere it created.

“It just felt exciting. There's a good crowd in today and I know the club made it free for everyone, which is brilliant. I thought it was absolutely awesome. It was a good crowd in and just exciting.

"These are the days you play cricket for. I was very jealous in 2021. I was injured, so I was not out on the field in the game that we won the Championship, so it’s just exciting to think of what might happen this week.”