Bamber wants to become all-format option for Bears

By [Staff Writer]

Edgbaston, Wednesday — Ethan Bamber has set his sights on turning himself into a genuine all-format weapon for Warwickshire after a breakthrough 2025 County Championship campaign in which he claimed 43 Division One wickets at an average of 33.

The 27-year-old seamer, signed from Sussex last winter, was the Bears’ iron man in the four-day arena, taking the new ball in every match and sending down 150 overs more than any team-mate as the club finished fifth, nine points adrift of third-placed Somerset.

“Through the season I felt that I grew as a bowler,” Bamber told BBC Radio WM. “It was my first opportunity to be ever-present in a Division One attack, certainly with the new ball.”

While his economy rate hovered just above three runs per over, Bamber admits his biggest lesson came from spells that got away. “There were too many times where I thought, ‘I let him off the hook there’. I bowled too many bad balls,” he said. “I hope I’ve added some craft over the winter.”

Part of that education took place in Adelaide, where Bamber played Australian grade cricket. “Whatever the level, grade cricket is challenging,” he explained. “You’re on the outside and you have to earn your place. That pressure teaches you how to lead and compete.”

With Chris Rushworth retired, competition for seam slots will be fierce. Ollie Hannon-Dalby, Michael Booth, Chris Woakes and the returning Keith Barker provide a high-class queue, yet Bamber relishes the contest. “It’s incredibly exciting,” he said. “Pop [bowling coach Graeme Welch] wants eight bowlers contributing to a Championship-winning side, not two or three. Every session is competitive and that raises your standards.”

The Londoner is now determined to crack the Bears’ white-ball plans. “I’m not near the T20 side at the moment, so that’s an area I’d love to address,” he conceded. “You want to be someone the captain looks at and says, ‘I want him in every game’.”

Working with Welch, Bamber has focused on adding “a different string to my bow” for flatter surfaces. “I’m hoping I now understand that better and can just keep growing and evolving,” he said.

Warwickshire open their 2026 County Championship account at home to Surrey on Friday at 11:00 BST, and Bamber will line up eager to prove his growth is only just beginning.