Eighty cricketers attend Warwickshire County Cricket Club open trials

Budding cricket stars of the future were put through their paces at Warwickshire County Cricket Club’s open trials.

Warwickshire’s high performance manager Paul Greetham, second team coach Ian Westwood and director of cricket Paul Farbrace ran the rule over 80 cricketers aged 18 to 25 at Edgbaston Cricket Centre.

Having staged three previous sessions focused on fast bowling and power hitting, this year’s open trials gave opportunities to talented batters, bowlers and all-rounders to ultimately push for a place in the Warwickshire men’s and women’s squads.

However, the invitation was extended to Birmingham & District Premier League clubs, who could identify and recruit players who are not currently playing at the highest level of recreational cricket in the West Midlands.

“The response we received was overwhelming,” said Greetham. “Covid has presented issues in terms of scouting talent who are currently in our county pathway or for players to trial due to the bubble environment.

“Ultimately, we wanted to put on an inclusive event that opened our doors to the local community  - although it’s gone nationwide. It’s brilliant to see how diverse the crowd are - coming from different clubs, backgrounds, ethnicities and ages.

“This is the fourth time we’ve done this and it’s a completely open event by where anyone can apply. We’ve probably gone more niche in the previous three by looking at certain skill sets, but due to not hosting an event like this for three years it’s therefore an opportunity for any player.

“We’ve got a group here who just love watching talented cricketers. To have our director of cricket Paul Farbrace and Second XI coach Ian Westwood involved, as well as staff from our youth cricket who coach and understand our community, is great.

“All 11 staff here know what talent looks like and, if we all agree that someone is a promising player, that’s great for them. We’ll get them back in, make sure they train and potentially offer a Second XI opportunity. That’s exciting.” A message from the editor:

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