Warwickshire were third in the Rothesay County Championship at the start of September, eight points adrift of leaders and defending Division One champions Nottinghamshire. Ethan Bamber had taken 45 wickets as the leader of the Bears’ bowling attack.
Twenty-six days later, as he was wheeling away having knocked over Leicestershire’s Tom Scriven, Bamber was celebrating his 69th wicket of the season, his fifth of the innings and Warwickshire’s first title since their COVID-affected 2021 victory.
Speaking with teammate and PCA Chair Olly Hannon-Dalby for Beyond the Boundaries, the seamer described the final moment of their dominant season run-in:
“It was an incredible feeling. You always dream of those moments and very rarely does the universe bring things together like that.
“To be able to finish a season culminating in a Championship win was something, in truth, probably until about ten days before, I’d never even thought was a possibility.”
Bamber capped his incredible season with the PCA September Player of the Month trophy, taking 24 wickets at an average of just 10.16 in the month.
Finishing as Division One’s leading wicket-taker, five wickets clear of Kyle Abbott in second, it was only right that Bamber’s 69th scalp of the season sealed the title for the Bears. But with his side claiming four wins from four in September, the 27-year-old asserts he was just contributing to a wider team effort.
“I think my favourite point was just up in the changing room after and you can just look around and see the contributions that everyone’s made, and the effort you’ve all put in together, and it’s come to something that is so important to people.
“I always wonder if I can impact games at important moments and I think that’s what you want, you want to feel like you can help the team get to where it wants to get to.”
”I really do feel that was the best unit I’ve been involved in, in terms of how we worked together, especially after a mid-point at Scarborough where I had a really tough day and we as a group weren’t at our best."
Ethan BamberMiddlesex
Bamber was the spearhead of an incredible bowling attack.
Chris Woakes, Hannon-Dalby and Keith Barker have 1,133 First-Class wickets for Warwickshire between them and are each iconic players in the club’s history.
“I love being part of the bowling unit, I think that was a huge reason we had success because we operated as a group.
“I really do feel that was the best unit I’ve been involved in, in terms of how we worked together, especially after a mid-point at Scarborough where I had a really tough day and we as a group weren’t at our best.
“We spoke a lot after that about how we can communicate better and maybe deal with difficult moments together, and I think that paid dividends throughout the rest of the year.”
Bamber earned 112.41 MVP points in September and claimed 63% of the public vote to win his award, after finishing fourth in the MVP Rankings for the month.
He was also picked in the IG PCA Men’s Team of the Year, finishing 12th in the 2026 PCA Men’s Domestic Overall MVP table and third in the red-ball rankings.
The Warwickshire bowler spoke with Hannon-Dalby at the PCA Summit, where players come together to discuss the most pressing issues in the professional game, giving the PCA invaluable insight into the priorities of its members for the next year and beyond.
