How Warwickshire won the 2026 Championship

Warwickshire's ninth County Championship title was built on a remarkable run at the end of the season. Here is how Ed Barnard's side got over the line.

The numbers

Warwickshire won seven of their 14 Championship matches, drew six and lost only one, finishing on 225 points. Somerset were second on 205, with Sussex third on 195 and Nottinghamshire fourth on 192.

A late surge

The key was the finish. Warwickshire won five of their last six matches, three of them by an innings. In early September, Ethan Bamber took five for 28 to keep the pressure on the leaders. In mid-September they beat Essex by eight wickets inside two days at Chelmsford, where 19 wickets fell on the first day, Bamber took six for 26 and Manav Suthar five for 75.

Then came the title decider at Edgbaston, where Leicestershire were beaten by an innings and 79 runs, with Bamber taking nine wickets in the match and Chris Woakes three for 38 in the second innings.

The bowling attack

Bamber, with 69 wickets, was the leading wicket-taker in Division One. Supported by Woakes, Suthar and the rest of the attack, Warwickshire repeatedly bowled sides out twice, which is the key to winning Championship matches.

Tactics

Teams at the top of the table increasingly chose not to enforce the follow-on, preferring to bat again and set quick targets while keeping their bowlers fresh, in the hunt for maximum points late in the season.

The leaders

Captain Ed Barnard led the side on the field, with coach Ian Westwood, a former Warwickshire captain, in charge off it.

Next season

Warwickshire will defend their title in a Division One that will include newly promoted Durham and Kent. Leicestershire and Hampshire drop to Division Two.