Warwickshire v Northamptonshire

Day4

Warwickshire win by 2 wickets with 1 ball left.

A remarkable thing happened on Saturday at Wantage Road; Warwickshire remembered how to play competitive cricket after nearly a year. George Dobell went so far as to call it a miracle in the Post, and he probably isn't far wrong. Darren Maddy, a man who couldn't buy a score in his first 3 championship innings scored a combative 130 and led Warwickshire in an improbable chase of 383 in 82 overs. After a run in which several demoralising statistics were throw up related to how bad the results were and the players were performing, it is nice to be able to say the have won a match by making the 5th highest fourth innings total in the club's history. Those are the sort of facts and statistics fans like to hear.

Ian Salisbury was nothing short of a revelation at the age of 38, winning the match with a 6 and putting the team in a position to do so with his brilliant 54 not out in the first innings, saving the follow-on.

George Dobell speculates that this could be a pivotal moment in the season when we look back, but I feel that the dogged resistence of Botha and Frost to draw last week against Worcestershire will be possible seen as the first moment that Warwickshire put down a marker that they were not exactly the same side that was so abysmal last season.

Day 2

Close of play: Warwickshire 129-7

Warwickshire in all sorts of trouble yet again, realistically now looking to the weather to help them salvage a draw for the second match in succession. The follow-on target is 235, and they will need all four remaining batsmen to score double their first-class batting averages (combined 57.7) to avoid the follow-on. There are 192 scheduled overs left in this match, so the draw looks a long way off at the moment. They will need some application just to avoid an innings defeat, with arguably their strongest side, or thereabouts on the park.

Day 1

Close of play: Northants 252-6

A partnership of just shy of 100 for the sixth wicket between Klusner and Boje and then another promising partnership between Boje and Crook took Northants through to the close in a decent position, after being reduced to 127-5. Due to the rain there was only 72 overs possible in the day, so Warwickshire will have to bowl out a few tomorrow before being able to take the new ball and hopefully wrap up the tail.


Northamptonshire team
SD Peters, N Boje, AG Wakely, L Klusener, DH Wigley, MS Panesar, DS Lucas, MH Wessels, SP Crook, RA White, DJG Sales

Warwickshire team
AG Botha, NM Carter, IJ Westwood, DL Maddy, IR Bell, MJ Powell, IJL Trott, TR Ambrose, LM Daggett, M Zondeki I Salisbury

Preview - Both sides have welcomed back England players for today's Championship match, with Warwickshire bringing Bell and Ambrose into the side and Northants having the services of Monty Panesar.


The start has been delayed by rain and as a result the toss and sides have not been decided yet. Warwickshire are likely to be choosing 3 from Carter, Salisbury, Woakes, Anyon and Daggett, the others are almost certainly automatic picks. Daggett probably deserves to keep his place based on his first innings bowling last week, Anyon, who has recovered from his arm strain is probably worthy of a place, I would like to see the last place go to Woakes following his decent performance for the England U-19's, ahead of Carter. At this stage of the season I can't see that a second spinnner and one who has recently been injured is a very good idea, but what do I know?