After being crowned champions of the County Championship 2021, Division 1 toppers Warwickshire completed a double, winning the Bob Willis Trophy final against Lancashire at Lord’s.
Warwickshire came out triumphant by an innings and 199 runs in a dominating performance, reflecting their strong form and county champions status.
They dismantled their rivals for scores of just 78 and 241, making 518 themselves and stitched a win that shall be remembered for its one-sided nature.
The pace trio of Liam Norwell (2/9), Craig Miles (5/28) and Manraj Johal (3/29) began that dominance in the first innings for Warwickshire. Miles went on to clinch a five-fer, his 17th in first-class cricket.
In a sorry-looking scorecard, nobody other than Luke Wood (46) could take some fight back to the opposition for Lancashire. Only one other batter other than Wood – Josh Bohannon (17) – reached double digits.
Then, in one of the most commanding batting performances for the season, Warwickshire crossed the 500-mark, with two of their batters making giant scores.
Opener Rob Yates (113) and skipper Will Rhodes (156) made fantastic centuries to take the game completely away from the opposition. Yates’ opening partner and England batter Dom Sibley (57) also contributed a fine half-century, as did middle-order player Sam Hain (55).
Useful knocks from wicketkeeper Michael Burgess (44), Craig Miles (30) and the rest did no harm to Warwickshire’s cause as well.
As they did with the bat, Lancashire struggled with the ball also. Wristspinner on the surge, Matt Parkinson, was their only real shining light, taking four wickets for 78 runs. Jack Blatherwick (3/80) and Luke Wells (2/77) shared five between them.
But the likes of Tom Bailey (1/112), Wood (0/64) could never build inroads against a solid-looking Warwickshire batting unit.
Having taken a sizable lead to push for an innings victory, Warwickshire ended with exactly that. Liam Norwell (3/60) and Danny Briggs (3/58) were the pick of the bowlers for the second half, as Warwickshire again didn’t break much sweat in dismissing the Lancashire batting line-up.
George Balderson (65) was the top-scorer for Lancashire second-innings, but no other batter from their camp reached fifty. Wells (41) was the second-highest individual score as Warwickshire raced to their second big crown for the English domestic summer.
Brief scores
Lancashire 78 (Wood 46, Bohannon 17; Miles 5/28, Johal 3/29) & 241 (Balderson 65, Wells 41; Briggs 3/58, Norwell 3/60) lost to Warwickshire 518 (Rhodes 156, Yates 113; Parkinson 4/78, Blatherwick 3/80) by an innings and 199 runs
