"There is absolutely no reason we can't be pushing for silverware" - A pre-season chat with OHD

Olly Hannon-Dalby is heading into his 14th season as a Warwickshire player as hungry as ever to play a big role in the bowling attack over the coming months.

Hannon-Dalby has led the Bears’ seam attack brilliantly in recent seasons and enters the 2026 campaign needing only eight more wickets to complete 400 in first-class cricket. For Warwickshire, he has taken 342 first-class wickets at 26.52 apiece.

The Yorkshireman will again be a key component of the seam armoury in 2026, but this year things are a bit different around him. At times in the last five years, when injuries depleted an already thinly-stocked seam department, he has been the only senior seamer available. It was a heavy responsibility that he carried superbly, but it was a demanding one, mentally and physically.

This season, with Chris Woakes having retired from international cricket, Keith Barker back from Hampshire and new signings Jordan Thompson and Nathan Gilchrist on board, OHD has plenty of company in the role of senior seamer.

“If you look around the nets this week, with people coming back from here, there and everywhere, I think there are 12 seamers on the staff,” he said.

“Woakesy is back and we all know what an incredible cricketer he has been across the world for the last 15 years. It’s superb that we can pick his brains. Then there’s Keith Barker, one of the best county bowlers you could ever come across, Nathan Gilchrist, Michael Booth, Ethan Bamber, Jordan Thompson. There’s great competition for places but, most importantly, we have all bases covered - pace, bounce, left-arm - all sorts. It’s a great bowling squad to be part of.

“At times in recent years, when we had a few injuries, I had to bowl quite a lot of overs. That’s great from a personal point of view, you have lots of opportunities and take lots of wickets, but for the health of the club it’s not necessarily the best place to be. If you look at teams that win the championship, rather than one bowler taking 50 wickets, they have four or five getting 30 or 40. That’s what Surrey and Notts have done in recent years, spreading the workload.

“With the signings we have made I think we are in a very healthy spot when it comes to the bowling department and there is absolutely no reason why we can’t be pushing for silverware this year.”

In the immediate term, the Bears head for Stellenbosch, South Africa, on Wednesday for a two-week pre-season trip during which they will play six T20 games and two two-day red-ball games. They face three T20 double-headers, against Western Province, then Loughborough UCCE and Durham UCCE, and finally Northamptonshire Steelbacks. The two-day games will be against Essex and Western Province.

Hannon-Dalby believes the trip will be invaluable as the Bears’ squad, far-flung during the winter, comes together again.

“The boys go all over the world in franchise tournaments or playing league cricket in Australia or South Africa,” he said.

“For most of the winter there have probably only been eight of us in, running laps around Cannon Hill Park and around Edgbaston, but people are arriving back from overseas and it’s exciting to be looking towards the season. Pre-season trips are great because it’s always nice to get everyone in the same room for the two weeks and chat cricket and get back together as a squad.

“We are very lucky - we all know beautiful South Africa is. Some counties get the old tents up and battle on in England, so we are lucky to go somewhere a bit sunnier. With such competition in the squad, this year the pre-season tour will also be key to who gets in the team for the first match of the season. The coaching staff have got a few decisions to make come the start of April.”