GerryShedd
Super Moderator
PCA Awards for 2026:
Toyota PCA Men's Player of the Year - Craig Overton
Toyota PCA Women's Player of the Year - Sophie Luff
Toyota PCA Men's Young Player of the Year - Sonny Baker
Toyota PCA Women's Young Player of the Year - Tilly Corteen-Coleman
PCA Outstanding Contribution Award - Heather Knight
ECB Special Merit - Tammy Beaumont
PCA Umpire of the Year - Men's Game - Ian Blackwell
PCA Umpire of the Year - Women's Game - Gabi Brown
Nothing for Bears there, though Umpire of the Year Ian Blackwell was briefly a Bear (and a Championship winner in 2012).
We've put all of the comments so far about becoming Champions on the Leicestershire thread, so I just thought we needed one specifically devoted to winning the Championship. And here's an article to start the thread:
https://leamingtonobserver.co.uk/sport/cricket-ian-westwood-admits-warwickshires-county-championship-win-feels-sensational/
The Telegraph says that Vitality will not be renewing its sponsorship of the Blast:
"Vitality, which provides health and life insurance, has been the title sponsor of the men’s Blast since 2018, when it replaced NatWest, and the women’s Blast over the past two summers. It has also sponsored England men’s and women’s home T20 internationals since 2018. It will stop each of those aspects of its sponsorship, although exactly why is unclear."
No more matches at Edgbaston; but still some events.
The Cricket Society offers to members and non-members in the Dollery later this year are (all three at 2.00 pm)
6 October: Daniel Norcross
10 November: Craig Overton
8 December: Graham Gooch
I'm sure that we will want to tell Daniel Norcross how much we enjoy his commentaries; and how could we miss the opportunity to commiserate with the sweet-natured Craig Overton on the unfortunate failure of Somerset to win the Championship (again)?
An article in The Cricketer paints a lurid picture of all the changes in wicket keepers that may take place before next season.
In relation to Warwickshire, it says:
Leicestershire' Ben "Cox, 34, is out of contract at the end of the season and has been courted by other counties. Warwickshire – for whom both Alex Davies, who has struggled with a finger problem, and the inexperienced Kai Smith have another year remaining on their respective contracts – have been understood to be among those potential suitors. Yet, it is unclear whether they will move for a new gloveman this winter. Every county in the land – Ian Westwood's men included – would be better for seeing if James Bracey, the third-highest run-scorer in the country, could be tempted to swap Bristol, even with two seasons remaining on his existing contract."
The Telegraph reports:
"Tickets for next week’s Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston have not sold out, despite a reduced capacity because of the construction of an on-site hotel. About 12,000 have sold for the first two days, with a sell-out of 19,000 expected on Friday, day three."
For those who are interested in football history, I suspect that Brian Halford's new book will be a really good read:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kicking-Off-Again-Footballs-Greatest/dp/1836804202/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.WYw3rkWD6RGOV72L_VT14gYyHHg0jLGpYBQ6uQ-SmDdF7lfr4xBJ_77ZgKsWlVXtGkNKvey9JyZWyskKN1s2h-I4numlNJtTEhPAm4aY13dwcKG1AuqwGJxunViIaECAdeegY8LVlnUk9PWX1c8W3w.czdUqz0SrRK6htDj2itoEzeSvBkddbwWAGjL635zx2U&dib_tag=se&keywords=brian+halford&qid=1786609173&s=books&sr=1-2
What cricketing record does Warwickshire's Alan (A. C.) Smith share with Indian wicket keeper Probir Sen?
Not much at stake now; but could be a good match against an interesting Lancashire side. Preview from the Lancashire perspective here:
https://cricket.lancashirecricket.co.uk/news/2026-news/match-preview-warwickshire-v-lancashire-metro-bank-one-day-cup/
Behind The Cricketer paywall, George Dobell has written a pretty savage article about the cricket management team at Edgbaston.
He is talking about all the Edgbaston based teams - Warwickshire men and women and Phoenix men and women. He points out that both the Phoenix teams are at the bottom of their respective tables. He also says that an opportunity has been missed to create a link between the Warwickshire and Phoenix teams by giving the Phoenix a core of Warwickshire players like Sam Hain, Dan Mousley, Chris Woakes and Issy Wong. He also slates the Warwickshire women's team management for losing so many top players - most recently Georgia Davis and Em Arlott.
Especially in George's sights is Performance Director James Thomas with his lack of cricketing credentials; and he suggests that cricket knowledge/experience is lacking on the Club Board.
Most disappointing is the fact that George gave the Club the opportunity to comment on his views/defend their position; and the supposedly media-friendly Club declined.
If you are subscribed to The Cricketer,the article is well worth a read. If not, I hope I've given you the gist of it here.
The Chief Executive, in his latest letter to members, says:
"We’ve also listened to Member feedback around player injuries and will try to provide more online information when we can."
Of course, he could then have given an update but didn't; but at least the message has got through.
Just wondering what posters think about the so-called Clicky Ponting Scandal:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jul/29/saltburn-suspend-fielder-clicky-pointing-cricket
Club says:
"Bears’ batting coach Matt Walker will leave the club at the end of the season after accepting the Head Coach position at Sussex County Cricket Club."
Interesting to see that Lancashire have ditched their plans to charge for live streaming of matches:
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/26254481.lancashire-cricket-ditches-paywall-lancstv-u-turn/
Press release says:
"Warwickshire County Cricket Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Sophie Ball as its inaugural Head of Data and Intelligence, a pioneering role that reinforces the Club’s commitment to innovation and high-performance excellence."
It says of Sophie: "She began her career with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) as an analyst before spending the past six years at British Cycling as Lead Insights Analyst."
The old-fashioned part of me is slightly cynical about these kinds of roles. Did her six years at British Cycling lead to any insights other than "Pedal faster"?
Preview here:
https://edgbaston.com/news/bears-v-notts-outlaws-at-trent-bridge-preview/
14 man squad, Dan Mousley and Richard Gleeson coming in, and Hamza Shaikh missing out.
News is coming through of the death of M.J.K. Smith, a giant of Warwickshire cricket. He was my cricketing hero as I grew up.
Here's a quiz question for what may or may not turn out to be a rainy day:
When Ethan Bamber scored a hundred against Essex last year, he became the fourth Warwickshire batter to register a County Championship century as what we are now required to call a nightwatcher(!). Can you name the other three?