Ethan Bamber may be an adopted Brummie but it’s fair to say he has the city’s self-effacing nature down to a tee. After sealing Warwickshire’s ninth County Championship with one final explosion of bails, and watching captain Ed Barnard lift the trophy to cheers of “You Bears” from the stands, Bamber tried to credit anyone but himself and even claimed to be an “average cricketer”. No bowler in Division One has sent down more than Bamber’s 445.3 overs this year, nor can top the 69 wickets that he finished on after rattling Tom Scriven’s timbers to wrap up a comprehensive innings and 79-run victory over Leicestershire.
The 27-year-old ploughed through all 14 games of the campaign, with his waspish brand of wobble-seam and swing consistently undermining batting line-ups in this slow-burn triumph. Nottinghamshire had the trophy, while Somerset had the alluring narrative of perennial runners-up potentially breaking the curse. But Warwickshire had the clinical edge it took to claim the prize, holding firm at the start of the season and moving into position to strike at the back end, winning five of their last six – seven overall – and suffering just one defeat.
Their reward for staying the course was a golden celebration with loved ones on a sun-drenched outfield in September. A calming influence as captain whose contributions with bat and ball have been myriad, Barnard was buzzing about a squad he took charge of in March when Alex Davies surprisingly stood down as captain. Bamber was “the nicest man in county cricket” and had gone up “four levels” since joining last year, while Sam Hain was “the most underrated” after another stellar season.
Hain’s 1,048 runs at 74.85 in a summer dominated by the Dukes ball underlined his seasoned quality, with Barnard grateful – if slightly confused – that England have not stolen his services in recent times. Bamber was simply in a state of disbelief as the Warwickshire supporters who had sung his name to the tune of La Bamba by Los Lobos queued up for selfies. There were doubts in the past, with the move from Middlesex for Edgbaston a case of looking to discover his “ceiling”.
For Chris Woakes, who got things moving on the third morning when he pinged Sol Budinger’s middle stump from his beloved City End, that ceiling could be higher still. He really gets in the battle and demands high standards of himself. That’s off the field as well.
The hard yards he puts in. I’ve never seen anyone work as hard. He’s played all 14 games and it looks like he’d go for another 14.
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