Warwickshire beat Leicestershire at Edgbaston to secure ninth County Championship title

Warwickshire beat Leicestershire at Edgbaston on day three of the Rothesay County Championship Division One on 26 September 2026 to clinch the county title, sealing victory by an innings and 79 runs.

The hosts completed the seven wickets they still required to win, with Ethan Bamber taking the final scalp as Warwickshire finished a late-season surge that included five wins from their last six Championship fixtures. The result earned Warwickshire their first County Championship crown since 2021 and their fourth of the 21st century.

Scoreline details from the match read: Warwickshire 372, with Sam Hain 142 and Ed Barnard 88; Leicestershire first innings 125, where Bamber took 4-42 and Chris Woakes 3-20; Leicestershire second innings 168, Tom Scriven 49 and Sol Budinger 47, with Bamber 5-52 and Woakes 3-38.

Leicestershire, who had resumed on 55-3, lost Sol Budinger to Chris Woakes after Budinger added four to his overnight score, Woakes then had Jonny Tattersall caught by Rob Yates at second slip, and shortly after Bamber had Ben Cox caught by Sam Hain at first slip. Bamber continued by dismissing Ben Green when Will Young took a one-handed catch at third slip.

Ian Holland and Tom Scriven added 35 for the partnership before Holland was trapped lbw by Warwickshire captain Ed Barnard; the ninth-wicket pair’s subsequent 22-run stand delayed lunch by half an hour. Manav Soutar removed Ajaz Patel’s off stump, and with Scriven stranded on 49 Bamber finished the match by bowling him cleanly.

Warwickshire’s turnaround followed a difficult start to the season: Alex Davies stepped down as captain two weeks before the campaign began and was replaced by Barnard, after which the side managed only two wins in their opening eight matches to mid-June. The team’s form reversed from August with five wins in six matches, including consecutive away victories over Hampshire, Glamorgan and Essex, the latter two completed inside two days.

The title was underpinned by bowling led by Division One’s leading wicket-taker Ethan Bamber, supported by Chris Woakes and Oliver Hannon-Dalby, and by the batting contributions of Sam Hain (1,048 Championship runs), Rob Yates (740), Ed Barnard (679) and Dan Mousley (664); Barnard also finished the season with 30 wickets.

County Championship title totals now read: 33 - Yorkshire (most recent title in 2015); 9 - Lancashire (2011), Warwickshire (2026); 7 - Kent (1978), Nottinghamshire (2025); 3 - Durham (2013), Glamorgan (1997), Leicestershire (1998), Sussex (2007). Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and Somerset have never won the County Championship.