Bears to start their championship campaign at Edgbaston

The Bears have been allocated two of their five matches at home in a group which consists of the teams that competed in the old Midlands/West/Wales T20 group.

After they meet Northamptonshire, Warwickshire will face Gloucestershire at Bristol (August 8-12) then return to Edgbaston to play Somerset (August 15-19). They then finish with back-to-back away games against Worcestershire at Blackfinch New Road (August 22-26) and Glamorgan in Cardiff (September 6-9).

There are three groups nationally and the two group winners with the highest points tally will qualify for the five-day final from October 1.

Warwickshire first-team coach Jim Troughton says his players have never been more eager to start a season.

“After everything that has happened this year, to actually get some competitive fixtures to plan towards is absolutely fantastic,” he said. “The players are all fit and ready and just can’t wait to get out there and play.

“We have had a great three-and-a-half weeks training. The guys have very diligent in what they have needed to do, the club has organised everything perfectly and the groundstaff have been magnificent, as always. The players are as well-prepared as can be.

“Now we have a couple of warm-up games against Notts and Worcester and we will be taking them very seriously because, with such a short season, we need to hit the ground running against Northants. It’s good to start at home and although three of our games are away, one is at Worcester and we always travel there each day. We’re just really looking forward to every minute of every match.”

With a fully-fit squad, some interesting selection issues face Troughton and new captain Will Rhodes, especially in the seam-attack. “There will be some tough decisions but in a good way – certainly much better than last year when we were having to cast about in the loan market to make up a team,” Troughton said.

“We have got a really good group and a lot of competition for places. With only five games in the Bob Willis Trophy, people will be looking to impress in the warm-ups – and we will have some spectators in the ground for the second day of the Worcestershire game next week which will be fantastic.”