Preview: Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire, County Championship

Warwickshire First Team Coach Mark Robinson will make a late call on the match readiness of new overseas signing Aamir Jamal as he prepares his side to face Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston.

matc

2024-04-25T16:35:33.000Z

Warwickshire First Team Coach Mark Robinson will make a late call on the match readiness of new overseas signing Aamir Jamal as he prepares his side to face Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston.

The Pakistan pacer – whose contract covers red and white ball – landed in Birmingham on Thursday (25 April) lunchtime and has been included in the squad for tomorrow’s Vitality County Championship Division One clash.

Jamal featured in the Pakistan Super League last month when he helped Peshawar Zalmi reach the knockout stages and was recently part of an extended Pakistan training camp that featured fellow Bears bowler Hassan Ali.

Robinson said the effervescent 27-year-old – who leapt to prominence by taking 18 wickets in three Tests against Australia in the winter – is eager to make an immediate impact in a Bears shirt.

“He’s raring to go,” said Robinson. “It’s fantastic he’s itching to get straight into action with us but he hasn’t played a competitive game for a few weeks so we’ll see where he’s at and make a decision tomorrow.

“We’d been looking for another bowling option and we’re delighted to have landed someone of Aamir’s quality. He bats, he’s aggressive in how he plays his cricket, which is how we want to play, and I’m sure he’ll be a great addition.

“He took the Aussies on with both bat and ball, it’s part of his character, but it may take him some time to adapt to English cricket and the Dukes ball. We’re excited to have him on board, and so should our Members.”

The visit of Nottinghamshire brings together the four leading run scorers in Division One.

Warwickshire’s top order has made an electric start to the season with Al Davies topping the run scoring charts on 481, Rob Yates third on 370, and Will Rhodes fourth having amassed 348.

Notts’ Joe Clarke – who hit an unbeaten 213 against Somerset last time out – is sandwiched between the Bears big hitters having racked up 480 runs.

Robinson added: “We’ve played on three pretty flat wickets which has given our batters an opportunity to be greedy and gain confidence. And for our captain to start his tenure in such a fashion is fantastic, takes some pressure off, and allows him to focus on leading the team.

“Will Rhodes has stepped back into the ranks and has responded brilliantly. And Yatesy has worked really hard and is playing with a freedom that we’ve perhaps not seen before and he’s excelling.

“Such has been their dominance that some of our middle order batters are thinking that their season is yet to start. But we’re pleased how we’ve started, pushed to wins game, and have won more batting bonus points than any other side.

“And I’m pleased with how we’ve responded to setbacks, missing Sam Hain, Booth, Norwell and Rushy to injury. That’d be a test for any squad and we’ve reacted in a positive manner to those challenges.”

Warwickshire sit fourth (41 pts) in the County Championship Division One with three draws from three, while Nottinghamshire are eighth (28 pts) having lost their opening weekend match against Essex by 254 runs.

Squad

Hassan AliEd BarnardChris BenjaminJacob BethellDanny BriggsMichael Burgess (wk)Alex Davies (C)Olly Hannon-DalbyAamir JamalCraig MilesDan MousleyWill RhodesChe SimmonsRob Yates

Head-to-Head

This will be the 141st match between Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire. Warwickshire have won 36 and Nottinghamshire 41.

Milestones

Batting:

Dan Mousley required 4 runs to reach 1,000 F/C runs for Warwickshire.Danny Briggs requires 16 runs to reach 1,000 runs for Warwickshire.

Bowling:

Will Rhodes requires 7 wickets to reach 100 F/C career wickets.Ed Barnard requires 8 wickets to reach 300 F/C career wickets.Danny Briggs requires 1 wicket to reach 350 F/C career wickets.Craig Miles requires 3 wickets to reach 350 F/C career wickets.

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.