Warwickshire: Grant Thornton & Mitchell Spencer handed first contracts

Grant Thornton took 0-34 on his Bears debut against Northamptonshire in the One-Day Cup in April

Warwickshire have awarded professional contracts to seam bowlers Grant Thornton and Mitchell Spencer.

The pair, both 24, have been given three-month contracts with the County Championship Division One side.

Thornton made his first-team debut in the Bears' One-Day Cup win over Northamptonshire on 27 April, but Spencer is yet to play for the county.

"They are two very different bowlers and good options for Ian Bell to have as captain." said coach Jim Troughton.

Warwickshire's sport director Ashley Giles had already talked about bringing in "new blood" following his side's difficult start to the season.

Under first-team coach Troughton and skipper Bell, the Bears began the new Championship season with successive innings defeats, before salvaging a draw against Surrey.

The One-Day Cup victory against Northamptonshire was then followed up by 50-over defeats by Durham and Leicestershire.

"Both these guys played a fair bit of second-team cricket for us last year," added Troughton. "It's good to have them on board, especially with us having a couple of other guys coming back from long-term injuries."