Director of cricket Dougie Brown believes that Warwickshire’s squad will be better balanced for the changes made to it at the end of last season.
Barring unexpected moves in the market, it is set to be a low-key winter in terms of squad-building for the Bears.
But Brown reckons the minor tweaking already done has adjusted the balance of his squad in the direction that it needed – towards batting.
Out from last season have gone all-rounder Darren Maddy (retired) and bowlers Chris Metters and Tom Allin (released) while the three young players awarded two-year contracts include two batsmen – Jonathan Webb and Tom Lewis – as well as wicketkeeper Peter Mackay.
It is not out of the question that a senior batsman will be recruited later in the winter. Warwickshire were interested in signing Nick Compton before he re-committed to Somerset. But Brown is happy with the situation as it stands.
“This year we lose Darren, Chris and Tom and have replaced them with three talented young guys in a way which gives our batting just a little but more focus,” he said. “We need to balance our squad up a little bit.
“Some of our bowlers are very good batsmen but you always want your top-order to score most of the runs so the bowlers can get some rest in their legs and go out and perhaps add a cameo innings rather than bat for long-periods.
“That way they can concentrate on their bowling and spend more time with their feet up. But we did not afford them that luxury last season because we lost wickets quite early in the piece.
“When I was playing we prided ourselves on scoring runs all the way down the order with the likes of myself, Ashley Giles, Tony Frost, Neil Smith coming in. But you need the bulk of the runs to come from the top order.”
With that in mind, Warwickshire need their senior batsmen to stay fit and come good next season. Varun Chopra scored his customary 1,000 championship runs in 2013 but for various reasons the input of Jim Troughton, Ian Westwood and Will Porterfield was sporadic, leaving the Bears dependant upon emerging pair Laurie Evans and Ateeq Javid.
“Laurie and Teeqy performed brilliantly this year,” Brown said. “Both played more cricket that they probably thought they would and really seized their opportunity.”
Meanwhile, the Bears will have a satellite ground up and running in Birmingham by 2015 after agreement was reached to revamp the old Mitchells & Butlers ground at Portland Road.
The plot has a rich history from hosting high-quality cricket for many years when the M&B team played in the Birmingham League. It was also there that, in 1959, Jack Bannister, bowling on his home club ground, took 10 for 41 for Warwickshire against Combined Services – one of only three ten-fors recorded by Bears bowlers in first-class cricket. Following the demise of the brewery team in 1994 the cricket field became redundant and the facilities fell into disrepair. But now the sound of bat and ball will return to Portland Road.
Warwickshire will have a second base not far from their main home, much as Nottinghamshire have with their Ladybay ground, a development which will substantially ease pressure on the Edgbaston site.
Importantly, the cost to the Bears will be minimal. Circumstances have worked heavily in their favour with developers Persimmon needing the site to remain in recreational use to enable other development nearby. That, along with various grants which are being pursued by the club, means the Bears will get a second ground capable of hosting academy, 2nd XI and youth matches – and even possibly 1st XI games – without shelling out a fortune.
It is excellent news that one of the city’s important old sporting sites is to be salvaged. And the move will have benefits for the local community beyond cricket, insists Warwickshire chief executive Colin Povey.
“A lot of factors have fallen into place kindly for us,” he said. “Persimmon needed a sporting involvement to enable them to develop there and we have also got one or two avenues of grant-funding to explore. At the end of it we will have a cracking venue for 2nd XI games and academy cricket which will also be suitable, if required, for first-class cricket. There will also be a lot of scope for community involvement.
“It has all come together in the space of a year really. In the last six months ourselves and the ECB got involved and it is a very exciting development for the club.”
Demolition of the old M&B social club will begin in December before the construction of new changing rooms, physio’s rooms and practice facilities. Bears groundsman Gary Barwell, meanwhile, has the task of getting the square back up to scratch.
If all comes together as planned, Warwickshire will have much more space available for their academy and age-group operations. They will also have another first-team venue option in Birmingham, which could come in very handy during seasons like 2013 when they were unable to use their Edgbaston home as it was taken over lock, stock and barrel by the ICC for the Champions Trophy.
“If we can get the square back to the way it was in its heyday it will be an excellent resource for us,” Povey said. “In terms of outgrounds for the first team in championship cricket, Rugby School might be an option at some point but the Portland Road site would be our next choice.”
