Warwickshire v Essex (a): Five things you may have missed

Warwickshire continued their title charge with a third successive victory this week, wrapping up an eight-wicket win over Essex inside two days at Chelmsford.

2026-09-17T15:50+01:00

The Bears are now waiting on the results of Nottinghamshire and Somerset before their route to a ninth County Championship becomes clear heading into the final week of the season.

Following the Bears’ triumph over Essex, here are five things you may have missed from their two-day victory…

Four-day return

Warwickshire were well-placed to challenge for the Division One title when the opening eight games of the season concluded before four-day cricket made way for the Vitality Blast and The Hundred. After a two month break in the competition, the Bears have been almost faultless since it returned.

Five games have resulted in four wins, and they head into the final game of the season having won three on the bounce, all away from home. Victory against Hampshire came within three days, while wins over Glamorgan and most recently Essex, have come inside just two.

Bowling unit

The Bears’ bowling attack has been outstanding all season, taking regular wickets at crucial times. That has been more evident than ever since the County Championships returned last month.

In the last three games, totalling six innings, the opposing team hasn’t scored more than 190. The Bears have bowled their opponents out for 115, 154, 69, 65, 134 and 189, with Ethan Bamber, Olly Hannon-Dalby, Chris Woakes, Ed Barnard and Manav Suthar all playing their part.

Bamber goes past 100 wickets

Ethan Bamber has been a crucial part of the Bears attack since joining Warwickshire from Middlesex ahead of the 2025 season. He’s gone on to become not only a mainstay of the playing XI in four-day cricket, but one of the leading wicket-takers in Division One.

The right arm swing bowler took 43 First Class wickets in his first season with the Club last year, while 2026 has seen him reach new heights. Bamber now has 60 wickets in this year’s County Championship, with his six for 26 in this week’s win over Essex seeing him go past 100 wickets for the Club. Those figures against Essex were also his career best in First Class cricket.

Yates' fielding numbers

Rob Yates is arguably the best slip fielder in domestic cricket right now and he’s having an all-time season at second slip. His four catches against Essex took him to a staggering 36 catches across 13 games this season. That puts him behind only four wicketkeepers in Division One, and 14 clear of the next-best outfielder.

Yates has an opportunity to join an elite group should he hold on to a few more in the final game of the season. Not since 1989 has an outfielder taken 40 catches in the County Championships.

Suthar’s impact

With the pitch flattening out at Chelmsford after 19 wickets fell on day one, and with Essex on top for the first time in the game at 62 for no wicket on day two, step forward Indian international Manav Suthar.

The left arm off spinner took the wickets of openers Paul Walter, whose slog sweep found Chris Woakes, and Dean Elgar, after a sharp turning delivery caught the glove and Zenby Zen Malik close in. That opened the door, and Suthar was happy to walk right through, taking three more wickets to take his second five-wicket haul for the Club in just his fifth match.

Suthar has had an outstanding impact already, taking 26 wickets with one game of his spell at the Bears remaining.