Ed Pollock

Ed Pollock made an immediate impression on county debut. Replacing the out of form Ian Bell as opener in the Birmingham T20 side, Pollock thrashed a fearless 66 from 40 balls with a bat borrowed from Chris Woakes to not only inspire his side to victory over Derbyshire, but reinvigorate an ageing Warwickshire squad that had appeared to be stuck in the past, timid and fearful. With Pollock to the fore, Birmingham reached the final of the T20 competition - he made another eye-catching half-century in the semi-final - and provided some hope of better times to come amid a grim season.

He launched 2018 with the accolade of the fastest-scoring cricketer in the history of T20 - his career strike rate at the time was above 190 runs per 100 balls - but speed was not matched with longevity and he did not make a half-century as an ever-present in 2018, not survive beyond the Powerplay overs as bowlers - especially spinners - began to manufacture a response. 2019 proved a challenging year too, with an innings of 77 when Birmingham had already been eliminated his only score of note in the Blast as he found himself in and out of the first team. "It has been a very frustrating competition for me," he reflected.

Something of a late developer, Pollock had taken the scenic route into county cricket. After several years in the youth system at Worcestershire - he played for the county from U13 to U17 level and attended Royal Grammar School, Worcester before transferring to Shrewsbury School - Pollock played for Durham MCCU (he gained a degree in economics) and Minor Counties cricket for Herefordshire. Son of Angus Pollock, a Cambridge University seamer, and brother of Alasdair, a Cambridge MCCU seamer - "it was like having a permanent bowling machine at home," he said - he described himself as a "blocker" in his formative years, but suddenly discovered a more dynamic side to his game. He signed an Academy contract with Warwickshire at the start of 2016 and was drafted into the first team T20 squad the following year after impressing director of cricket, Ashley Giles, in a T20 warm-up match against Shropshire.
George Dobell