Preview: Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire, County Championship

Report: Warwickshire v Kent, County Championship - Image 3

Experienced seamer Chris Rushworth misses Warwickshire’s final game of the season with a hamstring injury picked up during the defeat to Essex last time out.

briggford

2024-09-25T16:46:17.000Z

Experienced seamer Chris Rushworth misses Warwickshire’s final game of the season with a hamstring injury picked up during the defeat to Essex last time out.

But Bears have been boosted with news that pace bowler Michael Booth’s side strain is not as serious as first thought and he’s in line to return at Trent Bridge.

Report: Warwickshire v Essex, County Championship - Image 2

Loan signing Roman Walker – a 24-year-old seamer who’s joined for the season run-in from Leicestershire – comes into the squad as First Team Coach Mark Robinson considers his bowling options in the face of the latest injury setback.

England Bear Dan Mousley has been back in red ball training after spending a week with the national T20 squad and is also in line to play.

Bears need five points to ensure Vitality County Championship Division One safety but rain is again set to disrupt the final round of matches.

Robinson said: “We’ve had a difficult few weeks. A loss to Essex on a wicket that did a hell of a lot more than either side expected. And to make matters worse we lost Rushy at a pivotal moment of the match. He’s out of this game.

“We’ve had better news on Boothy. The original diagnosis was that he would be out for a few weeks but it’s not as bad as first feared.

“We’ve regrouped this week, worked hard together. The desire will be there; we’ll be trying to win the game. We’ve done all we can to be ready physically, tactically and technically.

“We don’t want to think negatively about drawing or saving the match, so from the first ball bowled we’ll be doing what we can to win the game.

“There are lots of distractions. What’s happening at other grounds, conversations about how many points you need, and the weather. And if you get too invested in the distractions you can take focus away from the job in hand and what’s needed to be done.”

Will Rhodes is set to play his final game for the club and Robinson reflected on the “special relationship” he’s enjoyed over the years with his former captain.

Rhodes is just 17 runs short of reaching 1,000 for the County Championship season, the first time in his career he’s reached the milestone.

“We’ve spent a lot of time together,” added Robinson. "When when you work closely alongside a player as captain and coach for a period of time you form a strong bond. So it’s always hard when that comes to an end.

“But players need to do what’s best for them at different times in their career and we understand his desire to play T20 cricket.

“His final game at Edgbaston didn’t work out as he would have scripted it, so he’ll be desperate to put on a good performance on his final game in a Bears shirt.”

Squad

BarnardBoothBriggsBurgessDaviesHainHannon-DalbyLintottMilesMousleyRhodesShaikhWalkerYates

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 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 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.