Preview: Essex v Warwickshire, County Championship (2023)

Warwickshire head to Essex on Sunday in LV= Insurance County Championship, hoping to continue to their strong run in all formats.

matc

2023-06-25T08:01:00.000Z

Warwickshire head to Essex on Sunday in LV= Insurance County Championship, hoping to continue to their strong run in all formats.

Having knocked off five successive wins in the Vitality Blast to secure a quarter-final spot, the Bears will be looking to use that momentum to build on their equally impressive start to their red ball campaign.

Mark Robinson’s side currently sit second with three wins and two draws from six fixtures whilst playing a game less than leaders Surrey. And whilst there hasn’t been too much of a breather for the Bears following three T20s in four days, Robinson believes his side will give everything in search of closing the 32-point gap at the top of the table.

“We know the transition can be tough, but we dealt with it really well against Notts a few weeks ago,” said the First Team Coach. “The boys have had a gruelling schedule this week on the back of that trip to Trent Bridge, so there’s been a physical demand. We’ve got to dig deep and show that resilience that the best teams do.”

Danny Briggs misses the trip south having tweaked his hamstring during the Bears' win over Worcestershire on Friday night and will be reviewed early new week. To compensate, Yorkshire spinner Dom Bess has been drafted in on a two-week loan.

Preview: Essex v Warwickshire, County Championship - Image 2

“We needed an experienced finger spinner as we’ve looked at the wicket and it’s very dry, so you would need one spinner, or maybe even two,” Robinson added. “Dom missing out for Yorkshire gives him an opportunity and sometimes those players have a point to prove or enjoy a new lease of life.”

The additional caveat this week is that the whole round of fixtures are using a Kookaburra ball to gather data on how it impacts the use of spinners, lower-pace seamers, and the balance between bat and ball.

And whilst the Bears have had limited time with it on the training pitch, Robinson believes it could suit the spinning department.

“We’ve had a practice day today, but we haven’t had too much time with it,” the 56-year-old added. “Those who have been around the national team have used it quite a bit, but with the wicket we’ve seen it will be immaterial anyway. It’s a better ball for a spinner to use, it fits in their hand easier, but we’ve got plenty of experience who will be able to adjust.”

Squad

Will Rhodes (C) Hassan AliEd BarnardDom BessJacob BethellHenry BrookesMichael BurgessAlex DaviesOlly Hannon-DalbyJake LintottDan MousleyChris RushworthRob Yates

How to Follow

Members and supporters can follow the match live in our new-look Match Centre at edgbaston.com, which will include a free to watch Live Stream, with BBC commentary, and a live text commentary. You will need to log-in to you My Edgbaston account to watch.

Supporters can get involved by sending their match day comments and thoughts to matchday@edgbaston.com, 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.