Pitch problems

The sighs of relief felt when Warwickshire escaped censure for an Edgbaston pitch that was deemed `below average' could be heard as far away as Worcester, home of their defeated opponents. Tom Moody, the visiting coach, had been highly critical of a surface that produced dangerously variable bounce, but the pitch panel's decision not to dock points enabled Warwickshire to take their place at the top of Division One.

The pitch in question was one of a group on the Edgbaston square that dry quickly, so they are used in the early months of the season before it gets too warm. "We'd had a warm spell beforehand so the pitch ended up too dry and we were caught out," says Dennis Amiss, the chief executive. "We'll be digging those pitches up at the end of the season."

The staging of the Champions Trophy and the Twenty20 Cup final at Edgbaston has left the groundstaff with a restricted number of pitches to use. In addition, some that were dug up two years ago will not be in use until next season.

As a result of these restrictions the club scheduled a fixture away from Edgbaston for the first time since 1992 and Amiss was delighted by the public response to playing in Stratford, against Lancashire starting June 18. "The support from local schools and businesses has been fantastic," he says. "The idea has really caught the imagination."

Moment of the month Apart from the pitch panel's reprieve, Ian Bell's double-century against Sussex, reviving talk of his England prospects.