County side plays 8 batters without losing single wicket in incredible run-fest, amass a mammoth 504/0 on board
A County Championship warm-up match saw Warwickshire pile on 504 runs for no loss in one innings, using eight different batters.
County Championship teams across England and Wales are preparing for the start of the new season on April 4, with a series of warm-up games being played across the country. A remarkable day’s play unfolded at Edgbaston in Birmingham, home of Warwickshire, where the home team piled on 504 for the loss of no wicket against Northamptonshire, as eight different batters featured without losing a wicket.
Put in to bat first, Northamptonshire — coached by former Australian coach Darren Lehmann — showed that this was a good batting surface. They piled on 423-7 on the first day’s play, Saif Zaib top-scoring with 102.
However, this paled in comparison to what the hosts achieved when it was their turn to bat. The Bears saw opening pair Rob Yates and Alex Davies set the platform. Davies in particular showed his quality, scoring 116 runs off just 101 deliveries, while Yates contributed 72(84).
Warks retire 6 batters in innings
Wanting to try out as many members of their squad as possible ahead of the official start of the Championship, Warwickshire retired the opening pair. Nevertheless, the batting paradise continued to play into their hands, as the incoming batters also made hay at Edgbaston.
Sam Hain, who has been on the fringes of the English national team, contributed a 63 off just 52 deliveries, while all-rounder Dan Mousley also scored 57(54) in quick fashion down the order. Along with them, Hamza Shaikh and Ed Barnard also played strong hands, taking the Warwickshire total past Northants, although this wasn’t the focus of the day.
Kai Smith and the experienced Danny Briggs were the last two batters of the day, playing out a partnership to push the total beyond 500, and ensuring no wickets were lost. Stumps was finally called on this two-day warm-up game, with none of these batters having done themselves any harm in this preparatory contest.
Warwickshire will begin their County Championship against Sussex in the first round, and will aim to do better than last year, which saw them draw 9 out of their 14 games.
The Bears are awaiting the arrival of Kiwi Tom Latham, who will add some international experience to this unit, as well as big Australian Beau Webster, who impressed in his debut series against India and will arrive in the later summer months.
