Access All Areas: 2026 D40 Review

Whilst the Bears sadly didn’t qualify for the D40 Pursuit Finals come the end of the campaign, Kearan Gibbs’ side have made fantastic progress over the course of the Summer, ultimately finishing in 2nd place in a competitive North & Midlands Group with 4 wins and 2 losses next to their name.

With the latest iteration of the competition coming to an end on Sunday – with Somerset beating Middlesex by 3 wickets in a thrilling Final at Corsham – we thought it’d be an ideal time to catch up with Warwickshire batting all-rounder Haroon Irshad to reflect on the progress that both himself and the squad have made throughout the course of the season.

Here’s what he had to say:

Haroon, thank you very much for taking the time to chat to us today. First things first, how do you reflect on Warwickshire’s latest D40 campaign from a team perspective?

Yeah, from a team perspective, it was almost everything that we wanted really. The batting displays were clinical and mature, we fielded diligently for the most part, and we bowled accurately as a unit. It’s nice to see that it reflected well in the results this year too, because we put in a lot of hard work as a group over the winter, and that’s translated nicely into the performances that we’ve put in during the summer as well.

We’ve also won more matches this season compared to any other previous D40 competition that we’ve played in since our return, and, importantly, we remained competitive in all 6 matches, so I’d say it’s been quite a promising year overall.

And on a similar note to the opening question, how do you reflect on this year's campaign from a personal point of view?

It’s definitely the best campaign that I’ve had on a personal level. First of all, I’ve taken some important catches this year, with my favourite one coming against Shropshire when a good friend of mine was batting very well at the time. I had to run in about 25 yards and dive forward to take that one, and it was a really good catch, so it’s probably up there as my personal best take ever as well to be fair!

Then if we move onto the other areas of the game, I’ve only been asked to bowl twice this season, but against Yorkshire I bowled patiently without much luck, so I’d definitely like to push for more opportunities with the ball next year if I can. And finally, to crown it all off, my batting has also been very strong throughout the summer. My lowest score this year was 30, in comparison to last year where my highest was 24.

I think the change from being an opening batter to a middle order player that can negotiate the tricky overs of spin and manage a game situation has really helped out the team, and it’s also allowed me to score runs where it mattered, so I’ve absolutely loved it.

Yeah, looking at the numbers, it’s safe to say that the move into the middle order has paid off for you big time this season! And out of interest, what would you say has been your biggest highlight from the 2026 D40?

Starting with a team highlight first, it would have to be seeing our batting line-up firing on all cylinders across all 6 games. In the past, we’ve been known for being more of a bowling unit, and that’s largely because we’ve always been that way ever since entering the competition.

Even when I joined the programme in 2023, we were slightly bowler-heavy at the time and that was indicated in our performances in the D40 and, even further back, in the Super 9’s if you looked at the scorecards!

So, with all of that in mind, for the batting unit to have led from the front this year has been sensational. We had a new recruit in Tom Clark, a no-nonsense opening batter who slotted in nicely at the top of the order, with the explosive Noah Eyles partnering him and smashing regular boundaries which just made life easier for all of us because we’d always get ahead of the rate.

Ted Buss - our wicketkeeper -  is different gravy at 3 as well; he always got runs whenever he batted and I can’t speak highly enough of him to be fair. Our coach Dean Wattison also chipped in nicely at 4, and then there was me at number 5, so we had a pretty strong top-middle order this year!

The batting line-up as a whole did a lot of damage to the opposition this season, and the top order gave us a chance in games that we probably wouldn’t have won in the past, so it’s been a really promising campaign for us as a unit.

Then when it comes to personal highlights, for me it would have to be my 76* (60) against Shropshire. It wasn’t lost on me that we’d be out of the hunt for promotion at 43-5 chasing a total of 203. We were 43-1, then I came in at 43-3, watched 2 wickets fall in the same over, and it felt like our entire season’s work was slipping away at 43-5.

Thankfully, Aqeel Hudda is usually my partner in crime when it comes to situations like this; in our first game against Shropshire two years ago, we built a meaningful partnership that nearly took us close, and his 59 (51) in this game was just as important as my knock.

When he started belting it around Berkswell, that allowed me to properly grow into my innings and then take charge a bit more whenever I got the chance.

Something that people might not know about the Pursuit though is that once you get to 75, you have to retire. You can still come back once the 9th wicket falls, but even then, you have to retire if you reach 100.

If Aqeel didn’t score those runs during our partnership, we might have been dead in the water - even if I had gone on to score a hundred – so that’s why I think it’s just as important to mention his efforts in that game too.

When Aqeel got out with the score on 146/6 though, we still needed 57 runs to win, and they only needed 4 wickets to end our promotion hopes. I raced to my 76* by playing some risk-free cricket, and after I was retired out, the tailenders finished off the job and we won by 2 wickets to keep our season alive.

That was a real highlight of the summer looking back.

You’ve mentioned the likes of Noah Eyles and Ted Buss during that last passage there Haroon, who would you say have been some of the key players for the Bears in this year’s D40?

Statistically speaking, it’s quite straightforward; Noah [Eyles] got a bucket load of runs. Ted [Buss] did too, and he also kept fantastically well for us across all 6 games.

Then Kearan Gibbs - our skipper - captained the team superbly and bowled like a dream this campaign, finishing as our top wicket-taker by the end of the tournament, and it was the best that I’ve ever seen him bowl.

Darryl Robinson and Louis Blair played a crucial role with the new ball as well; they both gave Kearan plenty to work with throughout the middle overs and I thought they bowled really well.

Finally, Tom Clark took the opening spot from me, which allowed me to slot into the middle order, and he was a gem in the field too, so that’ll always be massively appreciated on my end! In fairness, all of the lads in the squad were great whenever they played, but these guys definitely deserve a bit of a mention for their performances this season.

What's been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned from the 2026 season that both yourself and the squad can take into the future?

I think the biggest takeaway from this season would probably be the way that we approach certain game scenarios on a matchday.

On quite a few occasions this year, we got caught up in doing what we wanted to do, instead of seeing what the pitch was doing on the day, how the opposition batters were scoring their runs against us and what their bowlers were trying to do to get wickets at different stages of the game as well.

I also think that it’s really important for us to stay as switched on as we possibly can be in the field, and be ready to take any catching opportunities that come our way at all times. Looking back, it’s something that could’ve cost us in that game against Shropshire, and it definitely cost us in the defeat to Yorkshire unfortunately.

When you have days like that, it can be quite frustrating because you walk away from the game knowing that you probably didn’t adapt quickly enough in the field and maybe took the wrong approaches at the wrong times, but we’ve got a great group of lads in the squad and it’s something that we can all learn from heading into the Winter as well as the start of next season.

And speaking of that work over the offseason, which facets of your game are you looking to improve on over the Winter?

Unfortunately, I’ve recently been diagnosed with Sciatica, so a lot of my work over the winter period is going to be around getting myself to a point where I can become more mobile. If I can reach a certain point with my mobility though, I’ll be trying to improve my spin bowling a bit more. Whilst I don’t currently bowl at club level - which I’m perfectly sound with - if I’m ever needed at D40 level, I want to be fully prepared. Attempting to improve my fielding indoors will also be tough, especially compared to doing it on grass, but I’ll do that to my best ability where I can too.

And finally, it goes without saying, but I don’t want to stand still with my batting, and that’s my primary improvement above all else as a player. Sulley at SI Coaching is my go-to man on that; he’s helped me have my best cricket season to date and I know that if I keep working hard, I can continue to progress upwards from here.

And finally Haroon, what would your message be to any Bears fans who haven't already seen the Warwickshire Access side in action before?

I’d say just come down and see us play, honestly, you’ll have a great time. There’ll be moments where we go from the sublime to the ridiculous, and then somehow dig ourselves back out to the sublime yet again, so we’re never boring to watch either!

On a more serious note though, as a squad of players, we’ve all dealt with adversity throughout our lives - and each and every single one of us have stories that easily could have broken us at one point or another - but cricket has given us the chance to write some exciting new chapters in our lives, and we all want to make huge waves in disability cricket in any way we can.

The fact that we’re out there on the pitch, and wearing the Bear and Ragged Staff while doing so, is also something that everyone in the squad takes immense pride in. We don’t just see it as a stepping stone, it’s the be-all and end-all for us as a group, and it’s why we continue to love playing for Warwickshire so much.