15 May 2006 OK, so it’s not been going so smoothly for Warwickshire in the last week, the C&G trophy is already looking to be lost and the Bears suffered their first loss in the County Championship. However, despite a relatively poor week there are some very encouraging signs for the future in the emergence of Moeen Ali and Sam Reddish. Moeen Ali has been threatening for some time and those at Warwickshire have always been excited about his natural ability. At only 18, he is already one of the cleanest hitters of a ball in the game. However, Kabir Ali’s cousin, and brother of Gloucestershire’s Kadeer Ali, has always had question marks about his ability to build innings. Yet last week, against Nottinghamshire and batting at number eight in his debut he hit a fluent 68 during a first innings in which many of the other batters struggled. His contribution was a big part of the lead Warwickshire gained in the first innings and which eventually led to victory. He is already the England Under 19 captain and if he can force his way into the team regularly, he could have a big future. Amongst the avalanche of cricket scorecards that appear in the papers every day, the University Centre of Excellence games against the county teams are usually included. Not all of these games have first class status, this was unfortunate for 18 year old Sam Reddish who knocked up an impressive 148 in the second innings of Bradford/Leeds UCCE game against Worcestershire. Although not contracted, Reddish has been involved in the Warwickshire system and played for the 2nd X1 last season. He may be one to watch for the future. Whilst things are looking good for the county’s younger batsmen, it has not been such a good week for Ian Bell who lost his place (hopefully only temporarily) in the England team. It will surely only be a matter of time before he is back in the side, but in the meantime, he may get the chance to score some more runs for Warwickshire! All in all this week has been a fairly encouraging for bears fans. The loss to Hampshire in the County Championship and the two rain affected losses in the C&G may not be ideal, but with Daniel Vettori arriving soon and the emergence of the young batters, things are still looking good for the near future. | 
