Barnard rescues Bears against Surrey at The Oval
Ed Barnard came to the crease with Warwickshire already wobbling on 134-4
- Published
Vitality County Championship Division One, The Kia Oval, (day one)
Warwickshire 318-8 (96 overs): Barnard 96*; Clark 4-50
Surrey: Yet to bat
Surrey 2 pts Warwickshire 2 pts
Ed Barnard led Warwickshire's lower-order resistance after Surrey's seam attack looked to have put the back-to-back county champions in control at The Oval.
Jordan Clark took four wickets to help reduce Warwickshire to 167-6 but Barnard, unbeaten on 96 at stumps, shared stands of 55 with Michael Burgess (22) and Aamer Jamal (260) to help wrest back the initiative for his side on 318-8.
Surrey's Dan Worrall went wicketless despite beating the bat on numerous occasions, as openers Rob Yates and captain Alex Davies made early progress.
Yates passed 500 runs for the season as the Bears pair rattled up 59 in 12 overs before Clark nipped one back into left-hander Davies to make the breakthrough.
The returning Sean Abbott made an impact when he shaped one back into Yates' pads and, just before lunch, the returning Sam Hain was undone by some clever bowling from Kemar Roach.
Clark picked up his second wicket after lunch when a delivery trapped Dan Mousley on the crease working to leg. He then struck again by finding some extra bounce off a good length to end Will Rhodes' patient resistance courtesy of a regulation catch at slip by Dom Sibley.
Roach needed just six balls to have Jacob Bethell held by Ollie Pope at second slip to leave Warwickshire on 167-6, but Barnard, who reached his fifty when he slapped a full toss from Cameron Steel to square leg, helped Burgess add 55 in 17 overs either side of tea.
Clark broke the stand when Burgess got in a tangle and lost his leg stump as he played on, but Jamal gave Barnard more solid support before he left a delivery that flicked his glove and gave Abbott a wicket.
Barnard gave one chance, on 76, but England vice-captain Pope failed to hold on to a chance diving to his left at first slip.
