Preview: Hampshire v Warwickshire, County Championship (2022)

Warwickshire return to LV=Insurance County Championship duty tomorrow with a tough visit to title-chasing Hampshire. The depleted Bears, with Sam Hain, Jake Lintott and Adam Hose the latest additions

matc

2022-07-10T16:04:45.000Z

Warwickshire return to LV=Insurance County Championship duty tomorrow with a tough visit to title-chasing Hampshire.

The depleted Bears, with Sam Hain, Jake Lintott and Adam Hose the latest additions to the absentee list after their call up for England Lions duty this week, will face a Hampshire side challenging hard for the title.

Hampshire, unaffected by Lions calls, are in second place in Division One and striving to see their title-pursuit through this year having been pipped to the title by the Bears last season.

Conversely, just one win from the first eight games has left the Bears' aspirations to retaining that title looking slender and they travel to Southampton again without key men.

Pace trio Liam Norwell (back injury) and Olly Stone and Chris Woakes (still returning to full fitness after long-term injury) remain sidelined while Hain, Hose and Lintott are in the Lions squad to face South Africa in two ODIs this week.

The squad is under pressure but still contains plenty of talent and abundant fighting spirit, insists leader of the bowling attack Olly Hannon-Dalby.

"It will be a tough game. Hampshire are a strong side, their seam-bowling attack in particular, and we all know how good Keith Barker is. They have a strong batting line-up as well and are up near the top of the table for a reason.

"We have had quite a few draws, on the other hand, and just the one win against Essex, so that's left us in mid-to-low table and that's not where we want to be. We are very keen to get another win on the board and get up that table."

Hannon-Dalby is ready for some more potentially hard yards at the Ageas Bowl where Hampshire have topped 500 on the Bears' last two visits. He is equipped for them, though, and one of the positives for the Bears this season has been the Yorkshireman's bounce back from the serious heel injury which ruled him out of the second half of last season.

"This time last year I was out with a pretty big injury," he said, "so to come back and bowl a lot of overs means the foot is okay which is absolutely brilliant. Gerhard Mostert and Chris Cole, our physios, are both top men who have looked after me extremely well and it's great that the foot has held up."