Bears/Pears Cricket Thread 2014

[Villan For Life]

And time for this too, that is if New Road ever dries out.

#COYB

[kiddylion]

If Moeen Ali gets regular calls into the England squad I can see Worcs struggling to make 100+ most innings

[Simon Ward]

I see trouts is having a back op and will miss the Windies pre-season trip.

[Gareth]

If Moeen Ali gets regular calls into the England squad I can see Worcs struggling to make 100+ most innings

Unfortunately with Richardson going too bowling anyone out might be equally tough

[Grande Pablo]

Derbyshire for immediate promotion back to Divison 1.  Graeme Welsh could be a nifty appointment unless Mr Personality Ashley Giles gets the top job & poaches him.

[ADVILLAFAN]

If Moeen Ali gets regular calls into the England squad I can see Worcs struggling to make 100+ most innings

Unfortunately with Richardson going too bowling anyone out might be equally tough

You'll need a dry pitch to play on first.

[Chris Jameson]

I'm not usually optimistic when it comes to pre season predictions (being a Yorkshire & Villa fan I'm sure you'll understand) but I fancy Yorkshire to have a good season, hopefully England will tell Root to get some runs under his belt playing championship cricket and we will have Bairstow and possibly Bresnan for most of the season. Aaron Finch and Kyle Williamson could turn out to be great signings.

[Simon Ward]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/26171467

Article on Troughton injury! Surely the operation should have been done sooner?

[Villan For Life]

Good for the Bears that neither Clarke or Bell got snapped up in the IPL auction.

[Villan For Life]

Trott to return for the Bears in April and he wants his England place back:

Trott back for the Bears

The former is a virtual certainty, the latter might take a lot longer.

[cdbearsfan]

Should be stronger batting then this year, good stuff.

[peter w]

Thing with Trott is that everyone presumed it was a depression type thing when, and I have have got this wrong, all that he said was more or loess that he was knackered. That in turn led to poor performances and for him to over analyse everything. He needed a break to recharge the batteries. Sounds like he has and the needed England call up won't be too far behind. Score runs for Warwickshire and he's a shoo in for the summer test spots.

[adrenachrome]

Coventry Telegraph

Fit-again Keith Barker can compete on all fronts for Bears

Barker’s input for the Bears last year was restricted by injuries which ruled him out of much of the first half of the summer

Keith Barker is in “really good shape” and ready to excel for Warwickshire in all formats during the coming season, director of cricket Dougie Brown has revealed.

Barker’s input for the Bears last year was restricted by injuries which ruled him out of much of the first half of the summer and limited him to championship cricket only in the second.

He bowled superbly in four-day cricket, taking 44 wickets at 22.93 runs apiece and consistently undermining opponents’ innings by taking wickets with the new ball.

But he was left out of the team in limited-overs cricket to safeguard his fitness for the championship in which Warwickshire were still competing for prize money until very late on.

That strategy was understandable, up to a point, but deprived the team of one of their potential match-winners in the shorter formats. Had Barker played a Twenty20 or two, for example, he might well have delivered at least one performance to seal the extra victory to secure the points which would have ultimately taken the Bears into the quarter-finals.

But this season there should be no complications for the left-armer, selection-wise. Barker is 100 per cent fit and, with his new ball partner Chris Wright similarly recovered from a stress fracture in his back, ready to supply Brown’s bowling attack with a highly potent spearhead.

“Keith bowled magnificently in the championship last season,” the director of cricket said. “He took 44 championship wickets and only played half the season. It makes you wonder what he could have achieved if he had not had those niggles.

“He is a high-class, skilful bowler and looks in really good shape at the moment, ready to play a full part for us in all formats this coming season.

“Both he and Chris Wright are bursting to make up for lost time and if those two are fit and firing there are going to be some worried batsmen around the counties next season.

“Wrighty is like a salivating dog at the moment. He just wants to get out there and play cricket, having lost so much time last season.

“A fully fit and functioning Chris Wright is a massive asset to any team and he is getting some good work under his belt outdoors with the England Performance Programme in South Africa before joining us in Barbados.”

If Warwickshire can keep their key players, particularly the bowlers, fit then their 2014 season could be a lot closer to the glory of 2012 than the erratic nature of 2013.

Club physiotherapist Gerhard Mostert and fitness and conditioning coach Chris Armstrong have huge roles to play in the coming months, as they have had ever since the end of last season as they have drawn up programmes designed to keep injuries to an absolute minimum.

“We need to keep bodies on the park,” Brown said. “Some injuries you can do nothing about but we have looked very hard at how we prepare the guys and Chris Armstrong has been outstanding in that role this winter.

“We have tweaked our fitness and training programmes and looked at bowlers’ workloads so hopefully we can make the guys slightly more robust and get them performing at their best for the maximum amount of time.”

[adrenachrome]

Shropshire Star

Shropshire will face Birmingham Bears in Twenty20 at Bridgnorth

Shropshire have arranged a showpiece Twenty20 challenge match against Birmingham Bears

March 5, 2014 09:44

The Bears, the new name of Warwickshire County Cricket Club’s t20 side, will face the county at Bridgnorth CC on Wednesday, May 21 (5.30pm).

England internationals Ian Bell, Chris Woakes, Jonathan Trott and Boyd Rankin together with New Zealand spinner Jeetan Patel are all part of the Bears squad and the club’s Director of Cricket Dougie Brown has promised to field a strong team.

Shropshire chairman Toby Shaw said the county were really looking forward to hosting the Bears and he hopes the match will attract a bumper crowd with admission just £5.

He said: “It will be a very exciting evening and we are delighted that Birmingham Bears are coming to us to play a Twenty20 game.

“It’s two days before their opening game in the NatWest t20 Blast tournament against the Yorkshire Vikings and it’s a great coup.

“It will be a really good event at Bridgnorth which is a lovely venue.

“The game will be an important part of the preparations for both sides.”

Brown is delighted to have secured the clash. He said: “We’re very grateful to Shropshire for giving us the opportunity to play a competitive t20 fixture. We will certainly field a strong team.

[Villan For Life]

Is New Road still under water?