Warwickshire

1997 AXA League champions

warwickshire had dominated English cricket for several years but little did they know that it was about to come to an end.

They won seven trophies in five seasons including Championship, Sunday League and Benson & Hedges treble in 1994.

Two years later, Dermot Reeve stood down as captain and coach Bob Woolmer moved on to coach South Africa.

Little did they know what was around the corner as they had been busy enjoying the haul of trophies stacking up in the Edgbaston trophy cabinet.

And the AXA League win in 1997 would prove to be a last hurrah for that team.

It turned out that they would have to wait for 15 years for their next trophy, the Benson & Hedges Cup, following relegations in both in the County Championship and one-day league.

Seamer Graeme Welch said: “It was an era when we put in key performances at the right time and a lot of teams feared the Warwickshire team.When Allan Donald was running in they would be quaking in their boots.

“The likes of Allan, and Brian Lara before him, just took us to another level with their performances.

‘It was a side that really gelled together, everybody knew their role and everybody performed at some stage to get us over the line.

A combination of the spinners, the seamers and the batters just dovetailed together.We always had a great blend of experience and youth.

“We learned to win and believed we could win in any circumstance.We also had a lot of fun because there were a lot of characters in that dressing room.

“We travelled the country living in each others pockets and just enjoyed each other’s success. It was a golden era for Warwickshire and great to be involved in.”

That AXA League triumph was an unexpected success, Warwickshire emerging from the pack to emerge as potential challengers to Kent, who had been firm favourites to lift the trophy going into the final game only to lose by seven wickets to Yorkshire at Headingley.

Meanwhile, Warwickshire won the toss against Gloucestershire at Edgbaston and decided to bat with Nick Knight coming into his own with a 102 out of their total of 221-6.

But then, like so many teams before them, the West Country side were blasted away by Donald, who took four wickets, along with support from Ashley Giles, to hand their side the title after a 71-run win.

Welch said:“We put a run of games together and it was close going into the end of it but we had a good team, it was the season that Nick Knight started to come into his own.

“It’s funny because my dad has just given me some video of the presentation after that game against Gloucestershire.

“I remember being on the balcony after everybody ran onto the pitch at the end of the game, we hadn’t expected to win the trophy.

“Because Kent were favourites we didn’t expect to win but we went out and tried to play the way that we normally played.”

BACK ROW (LEFT-RIGHT):

Stuart Nottingham: The physio now lives in Barbourne, Worcestershire, and has worked in his own private practice and occupational health business.

Mike Edmond: A pace bowler who relocated to Australia where he now works.

David Hemp: A batsman who played for his native Bermuda. Has been master in charge of cricket at Solihull School and is now coaching the Melbourne Stars and for Cricket Victoria.

Ashley Giles: The England spinner became Warwickshire’s director of cricket and England’s limited overs head coach. He is now Lancashire’s director of cricket. Dougie Brown: All-rounder who played for both England and Scotland. Served the county as player and coach for 27 years until leaving in October 2016. He has also worked as a PE teacher. Graeme Welch: A seamer. He became bowling coach at Essex and Warwickshire, elite cricket performance director at Derbyshire and since September 2016 has been Leicestershire’s assistant coach. Phil Neale: A batsman and former Scunthorpe United team mate of Sir Ian Botham. Went into coaching and has been England team operations manager since 1999.

FRONT ROW:

Trevor Penney: A Rhodesian batsman has served England and India as fielding coach and is now assistant coach of St Lucia Zouks in the CPL.

Gladstone Small: The England fast bowler was a PCA director and has worked as a cricket commentator as well as on the after-dinner and corporate hospitality circuits.

Allan Donald: South African fast bowler has worked as a bowling coach for a number of teams and countries including England, Warwickshire and, most recently, Australia.

Neil Smith: The England batsman, son of former Test captain MJK Smith, is now a coach and groundsman at Warwick School. Andy Moles: A former batsman who went into coaching with New Zealand, Wellingborough School and Afghanistan. He is now head coach of South Western Districts Cricket in South Africa. Dominic Ostler: England A batsman is a coach at King Henry’s VIII School in Coventry and is head batting coach for Complete Cricket.

Keith Piper: A wicketkeeper who has coached Warwickshire 2nds but now runs his own coaching business and has worked for the MCC at Lord’s.

NOT PICTURED:

Tony Frost: A batsman whose father Ivan played for Staffordshire. Stayed on with the county as batting and second XI coach.

Wasim Khan: A batsman who became community development manager for the PCA, CEO of the Cricket Foundation and is now Leicestershire’s chief executive. Nick Knight: A batsman whose middle name is Verity in honour of England’s great left-arm spinner Hedley from the inter-war years. Is now a commentator for Sky Sports. Mohamed Sheikh: An all rounder has coached for the Warwickshire Cricket Board’s development of excellence programme. Anurag Singh: England A batsman. Became a solicitor and is now heads auto manufacturer sector team at Gowling WLG.