The relegation battle hots up as Warwickshire entertain Kent at Edgbaston
What we have in prospect at Edgbaston this week is a clash between a team that can’t start winning and a team that can’t stop losing. Warwickshire have so far managed to play ten Championship matches without a single victory whereas Kent are on a run of six consecutive defeats.
With four more rounds to play, the battle to avoid relegation from the top division of the Vitality County Championship is starting to look like a mad scramble. At the very bottom, Kent look to have a huge mountain to climb. They would need to overtake two of four counties – Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire – all of whom are more than 30 points better off.
The most likely scenario is that Kent will go down; but which of those four counties will join them in Division Two next year? The current round of matches may go some way towards providing answers. Lancashire are at home to Hampshire, Worcestershire visit Essex and Notts entertain Champions-elect Surrey – all tough assignments. Warwickshire, on the other hand, take on Kent.
Warwickshire come to the game on the back of gaining the better of the match against second placed Somerset before the weather thwarted them on the last day. Meanwhile, Kent lost by eight wickets to Worcestershire.
Warwickshire were boosted by a five wicket haul for all-rounder Ed Barnard and a hundred by captain Alex Davies who is the leading run scorer in Division One with 929 at an average of 58.06. Paceman Oliver Hannon-Dalby is the second highest wicket taker with 34 scalps so far.
Kent will at least have taken some comfort in the knowledge that Zimbabwe born Tawanda Muyeye hit a career best double century in the second innings and held up the Worcestershire victory march, but the Kent problem is their bowling. Of those who have played in more than half of their matches, only ex-Bear George Garrett averages under 40. Leg spinner Matt Parkinson has taken most wickets (24) but they have cost him over 55 runs apiece.
Both teams desperately need to win this match – the Bears to break their duck and rise above the teams around them and Kent to give themselves a lifeline. With fine weather forecast, there must be a decent chance of a result and though Kent could pull off a surprise, Warwickshire surely look the more likely winners.
Key Players
For Warwickshire, their problem has been their inability to take 20 wickets in a game. New Zealander Michael Rae has been brought back after a couple of appearances earlier in the season. His wholehearted fast medium bowling has so far brought him 11 wickets at 25.18 apiece. His wicket-taking ability could be crucial in bringing the Bears that long awaited first win.
The burden of captaincy is especially heavy when a team is failing so Daniel Bell-Drummond must be feeling under pressure. He managed just five runs in the match against Worcestershire so will be looking to bounce back at Edgbaston. He has scored nearly 700 runs this year but his average of 38 is slightly under par for a player of his calibre. A return to his best could make a big difference to Kent’s bid to escape the drop.
Team News
Warwickshire are celebrating the selection of two of their brightest young stars for the England white ball squad to face Australia. Jacob Bethell and Dan Mousley will be keen to show that they also have red ball credentials. There are unlikely to be too many changes to the squad from the Somerset game.
Warwickshire squad (probable): Ed Barnard, Chris Benjamin, Jacob Bethell, Michael Booth, Danny Briggs, Michael Burgess, Alex Davies (c), Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Dan Mousley, Micheal Rae, Will Rhodes, Chris Rushworth, Hamza Shaikh, Rob Yates
Kent have Somerset left arm seamer Alfie Ogborne available for his second match on loan, but stand-in overseas player Akeem Jordan has picked up a side strain. He joins Zak Crawley (finger), Joe Denly (knee), Nathan Gilchrist (illness), Matt Quinn, Michael Cohen and Fred Klaassen (all back) on the physio couch.
Kent squad: Daniel Bell-Drummond, Ben Compton, Jaydn Denly, Joey Evison, Harry Finch (wk), George Garrett, Jack Leaning, Tawanda Muyeye, Alfie Ogborne, Matt Parkinson, Jas Singh, Grant Stewart, Charlie Stobo
Weather and Conditions
The weather is set fair for all four days, with temperatures likely to reach 24 degrees. Whilst that might make a result likely, Warwickshire coach Mark Robinson struck a cautionary note about the Edgbaston pitch after the Somerset game: “On this type of surface it just gets flatter and flatter and favours the team batting on the last day. It is hard to bowl somebody out on that type of surface.” So the team winning the toss may well choose to field in the hope of chasing down a target on day four.
Date: 29 August 2024
Time: 11.00 am
Ground: Edgbaston Stadium
