Warwickshire v Northants (a) – One Day Cup preview

Warwickshire County Cricket Club get their latest challenge for silverware under way on Tuesday 21 July when they travel to Northamptonshire to take on the Steelbacks in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.

2026-07-20T11:10+01:00

It’s been ten years since the Bears last triumphed in the competition, with non-other than this year’s captain Sam Hain ending the campaign as the leading run-scorer.

He will lead the side against a Northants side fresh from winning the Vitality Blast at the weekend. Here’s what you need to know before play gets under way at the cinch County Ground…

Team news

Warwickshire have named a 13-player squad for their trip to Northants which includes Jake Garlick, who last week signed a short-term contract with the Bears for the One Day Cup.

Bears squad: Sam Hain, Jake Lintott, Jake Garlick, Rob Yates, Ethan Bamber, Olly Hannon-Dalby, Taz Ali, Vansh Jani, Zen Malik, Alex Davies, Kai Smith, George Garton, Theo Wylie

How the competition works

The 18 First Class counties are split between two groups; Group A and Group B. Warwickshire are in Group A alongside Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset and Surrey.

The Bears will play all eight other teams in their group to decide their final position in Group A. Following that, the teams that finish top of Group A and Group B will progress straight through to the Semi Finals. For the teams second and third in each group, they will contest two Quarter Finals. The Quarter Finals and Semi Finals take place across three days in August, before the Final takes place in September.

Read our guide to the Metro Bank One Day Cup.

Previous meeting

The two teams met in Group B last year with Warwickshire winning by 62 runs at Rugby School. Batting first, the Bears were in trouble at 32 for four, however a brilliant run-a-ball 123 from Alex Davies and a Kai Smith half-century rescued the hosts. Runs down the order from Jake Lintott (37) and Michael Booth (45*) also proved to be crucial as they reached 291 for eight.

With the ball, Taz Ali proved to be the difference, with the young leg-spinner picking up five for 43 from his ten overs. It was his maiden first-team five-for. Ed Barnard took two for 40 and Rob Yates two for 31 as Northants were dismissed for 229.

Bear in form

Vansh Jani

Exciting talent Vansh Jani powered a sensational unbeaten 215 off just 151 balls last week for the Second XI. The 21-year-old’s innings included a staggering 28 fours and ten sixes as Warwickshire chased down what had initially looked like a testing total of 352, doing so with seven overs remaining.