Westwood wants more from Bears in Hampshire test

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Head Coach Ian Westwood is hoping for an improvement from his side when they travel to Hampshire for the next round of Rothesay County Championship on Wednesday.

2026-09-01T11:00+01:00

The Bears endured a frustrating few days when Nottinghamshire were the visitors to Edgbaston Stadium last week, with two days completely washed out by heavy rain which affected the majority of the country’s cricket.

However, when they did take to the field, the Bears were not at their best for long enough with either bat or ball, and Westwood is hoping for an uptick in performance at the Utilita Bowl this week.

"I was disappointed with the way we played this game,” he said. “With all the time we lost it was difficult to get any sort of momentum but they did it better than us and dominated us for large periods of the game.

"We didn't bowl terribly but we weren't at our best with the ball on what was probably a 250 wicket. Joe Clarke batted really well and made a big difference in the game. Then today I thought we were pretty poor with the bat at times so it's been a tough week but, on the positive side, it wasn't horrendous from a damage point of view.

“We still leave with some points, albeit four less than Nottinghamshire, and we are still confident we can have a good last four games and be right up there.”

Bowler Chris Woakes missed the game with Notts as he continues to manage the symptoms of his hernia, but will be back for the trip to the South Coast.

"We are hoping that Chris Woakes will be back for the Hampshire game. He was a bit sore after the last game and is managing his hernia symptoms but we are hopeful that he will play at least three out of the last four games."