Bears start with a bang but there’s more to come
WARWICKSHIRE’S twowicket win against all-conquering Kent could be marked as an opening-day anomaly – but Bears skipper Marie Kelly says it proves her side are ready to challenge for silverware this season.
Kent are the dominant force in the women’s game having lifted the Women’s County Championship in four of the last six seasons, while they are the current defending NatWest t20 champions.
Yet Warwickshire have been building for some time, and their fast start to the season – which saw them win both of their county games last weekend – leaves them second in the table.
Kent fought back from a dismal start to set a competitive total of 200-9, but it says plenty about Warwickshire’s character that they came through unscathed – sneaking home thanks to Kelly’s top-scoring 57.
After that, they blew Sussex away, dismissing them for just 85 before knocking off the runs they needed in fewer than 26 overs – suggesting a bright campaign is in store.
“I don’t think we could have asked for a better start at the weekend. It is always a tough task going up against Kent and Sussex first up so to get two wins really early was very good for us,” said Kelly.
“We are just excited for the rest of the season now. Kent is probably the hardest place we could have started but we got a great start, limited them to 130-8 before they fought back a bit.
“We were fairly comfortable for most of our innings before we had a scare towards the end. As long as we crossed the line though, that is all that matters.
“I think letting Kent back in the game is something we have to learn from going forwards. We should have won the game comfortably but let them back in it to an extent.
“We have given teams a chance and we need to learn from it heading into our next game. And then we went out and got a more emphatic result against Sussex.”
Warwickshire sit second in the table, just half a point off fellow high-flyers Lancashire – who are also bidding to win the title for the first time in the club’s history.
And Kelly believes there is a greater togetherness at the club this campaign, after they spent much of pre-season gelling on and off the field.
“We had a lot of pre-season training this year, which is good because it meant we all got to see each other consistently over the winter and built up that team spirit,” added Kelly.
“And then we had a teambuilding event just before the weekend which I think made a big difference.We camped out at Portland Road, had a barbeque, listened to music and played some games.
“We did some team-building challenges.That sort of stuff might be small but it is really big.
“We have never done that before, we just thought we would try it this year. We wanted to become more inclusive, especially between the first and second team.
“We want to see everyone take on more responsibility this year.”
Elsewhere in Division One, Lancashire eased to victories against Berkshire and Middlesex to get their campaign up and running, while Yorkshire beat the same two teams to join their great rivals and Warwickshire as the only sides with a 100 per cent winning start.
It was a bad weekend to be on the road, with only Kent securing an away win – as they rebounded from their opening-day defeat to topple Notts by 41 runs.
Sussex prop up the table, as they only scored a combined 155 runs in their two matches – leaving them on five points.