Westwood: Bears embracing excitement of title race

Warwickshire County Cricket Club Head Coach Ian Westwood hailed his side’s performance after they maintained their push for the Rothesay County Championship title with a convincing victory over Essex.

2026-09-17T10:40+01:00

The Bears continued their outstanding form to come away from Chelmsford with an eight-wicket win, claiming victory inside two days for the second successive game.

The result against Essex keeps their title hopes alive heading into the final game of the season when they take on Leicestershire at Edgbaston Stadium next week.

Westwood was particularly pleased with the way his side adapted to the conditions throughout the match, while Sam Hain’s important contribution with the bat helped put Warwickshire in a commanding position.

“I thought we were fantastic this week from ball one,” said Westwood. “We played the conditions really well on that first afternoon when we let them back in it slightly.

“Then Sam Hain showed his class yesterday and today with the bat, which was a really important knock. On day two we were exceptional.”

The victory was Warwickshire’s third successive game on the road, with the same squad travelling together throughout the run of fixtures.

Westwood believes that togetherness has helped create a positive atmosphere within the group as the Bears continue to embrace the pressure and excitement of the title race.

“We’ve really enjoyed these three games on the road,” he said. “It was really nice to get on the bus away, knowing that we were on the road altogether.

“We wanted in these games to express ourselves and play with a smile on our face and use the excitement of a title chase to excite us rather than hold us back. The lads have done that really well so far.”

Warwickshire will now watch the remaining results closely, with fellow title chasers Nottinghamshire and Somerset yet to conclude their respective fixtures,

The final round of Championship fixtures next week will then determine the destination of the title.

“We can only control what we’re doing. On Thursday and Friday we’ll obviously be Sussex and Yorkshire fans, but it’s really exciting going into the last game of the season knowing we are going to be in with a chance of winning it. That’s a really nice place to be, whatever the outcome.”

Warwickshire entertain Leicestershire in the final fixture of the 2026 Rothesay County Championship next week, with play beginning at 10:30am on Thursday 24 September.