Preview: Essex v Warwickshire, County Championship

Pakistan pace bowler Aamir Jamal is the latest Warwickshire seamer to be sidelined through injury.

briggford

2024-05-16T15:22:02.000Z

Pakistan pace bowler Aamir Jamal is the latest Warwickshire seamer to be sidelined through injury.

Jamal experienced discomfort in his back during his first two County Championship games for the Bears and a scan this week revealed minor injury that rules him out of the trip to Chelmsford.

With six senior bowlers unavailable – Chris Rushworth, Craig Miles, Liam Norwell and Michael Booth also injured, and Hassan Ali touring with Pakistan – First Team Coach Mark Robinson has brought in Kiwi quick Michael Rae to add extra firepower.

The 6ft 6ins – a familiar face in New Zealand First Class cricket who’s also played for New Zealand A – has signed as an overseas on a short term deal and is in line to make his debut against Essex on Friday.

Robinson said: “Our seam bowling injury list is unprecedented, I’ve not been involved with a side that’s had so many injuries. And these are all bowlers that could come into the first team and make a difference.

“Aamir is the latest one. He’d been suffering with a sore back. The scan has revealed an injury, nothing significant but one that’ll rule him out for a while. We suspected he wasn’t at his best, he’s not been getting anywhere near the pace that both he and we know he can bowl.

“He was frightening the Aussie batters in the winter with his pace but he’s not been at that level since joining us, which is frustrating for him.

"We’ll take a strong squad to Essex, and we’ve managed to bring in Michael Rae who we hope can make a bit of difference. He’s a very tall bowler, with lot of First Class experience and we’ve been lucky to tap into him quickly.

“Che Simmons also comes in the squad. He’s had a couple of good Second XI games recently and he’s desperate for an opportunity. But we need to look at the wicket and see what it might offer our bowlers.”

Craig Miles bowled one of the finest spells in his Bears career at Surrey – picking up a five-fer in the first innings – before turning his ankle during his fifth wicket celebration.

However, he’s responded well to treatment and could be in line to come back into the side at Old Trafford next weekend.

Essex lie second in the table after five games but lost their last outing at Somerset by three wickets.

However, they boast Division One’s top two wicket takers in seamers Jamie Porter and Sam Cook who have 25 wickets apiece already this term, while South African spinner Simon Harmer took 10 wickets in the corresponding fixture last summer.

Robinson added: “Essex is another tough examination, but one we’ll relish. They have two outstanding bowlers, different to the height and pace we encountered at Surrey, but effective in a different way.

“Harmer caught us on a used, turning wicket last season but we came out on top at Edgbaston. We’ve had good games against them in the past and I’m sure we’ll have another against them this weekend.”

Squad

Ed BarnardJacob BethellDanny BriggsMichael Burgess (WK)Alex Davies (C)Sam HainOlly Hannon-DalbyJake LintottDan MousleyMichael RaeWill RhodesChe SimmonsRob Yates

Head-to-Head

This will be the 125th meeting between these two team in the County Championship. Warwickshire have won 35 and Essex have won 40.

How to Follow

Members and supporters can follow the match live in our Match Centre at edgbaston.com, which will include a free to watch Live Stream, with BBC commentary, and a live text commentary. You can also see a ball-by-ball feed and watch highlights of all the action.

Supporters can get involved by sending their match day comments and thoughts on X (Twitter) via @WarwickshireCCC and we’ll publish the best ones on our live text commentary in the Match Centre.

Supporters can also watch the Live Stream and get instant push notifications of all wickets, innings and match results via the Edgbaston app, which is free to download on iOS and Android.

Match updates will also be available across the Club’s social media accounts, simply search for @WarwickshireCCC.