Warwickshire will face champions Essex at Edgbaston fired by "belief" taken from their brilliant fightback LV= Insurance County Championship win over Nottinghamshire, believes First Team Coach Mark Robinson.
Down to ten men from the opening day at Trent Bridge after losing Dom Sibley with a broken finger, the Bears dug deep to stay in the game and then hit back to win by three wickets in the last session of a gripping final day.
That last-day chase, with vital contributions from Sam Hain, Matt Lamb, Tim Bresnan and Olly Stone, was memorable - but the resilience which earned the result was evident much earlier in the match, said Robinson.
"The players showed a lot of character all through the game. A lot of people contributed and not just on the final day.
"The chase was a terrific effort, from Hainy and Lamby in the morning and then Bres and Olly Stone and Danny Briggs. It was great to see Bres coming in at teatime, as excited as if it was a Test match, and saying to the lads 'we can do this.'
"We were behind the eight ball for a long time, but hung on in there. That's what you have to do and it's surprising how many times a side hangs on in there and stays in the game and then it turns and they win it.
"It was a fantastic effort and the lads will take a lot of belief from that. We are not perfect and have a long way to go to deliver the something special that we want to deliver for the Bears fans, but that is a start. A result and performance like that validates all the hard work that is being put in."
Next up come Essex in a tussle between the two sides leading the group with 32 points from two games. It will be a tough test against the champions and the Bears will be without Sibley and also Liam Norwell whose heel injury will be given a few more days to clear so that he will hopefully be in contention at Durham next week. Dan Mousley, Craig Miles and Henry Brookes come into the squad.
"Essex are a good team, with the likes of Sir Alastair Cook and Simon Harmer," said Robinson, "but we will relish going up against players of that calibre and have got to work out the right way to approach them."
Squad
Rhodes (c), Bresnan, Briggs, H Brookes, Burgess (wk), Hannon-Dalby, Hain, Lamb, Miles, Mousley, Stone, Vihari, Yates.
How to follow
Warwickshire Members and supporters will be able to watch the action via the Club’s live stream, which will include replays and commentary from BBC WM and BBC Coventry & Warwickshire.
All action will be live streamed through the Match Centre on edgbaston.com, through the Edgbaston app (available on iOS and Android) and through the Warwickshire CCC YouTube page. Supporters can also keep up to date with the scores and in-play clips through the Match Centre on edgbaston.com.
Please note that Warwickshire’s LV= Insurance County Championship match with Essex (22-25 April) will be played behind closed doors due to the latest Government guidelines.
_s6bZ9Ri.png?clxf=t_general_medium)
%20(1).png?clxf=t_general_medium)
.png?clxf=t_general_medium)
_Q3P0zzz.png?clxf=t_general_medium)
