The birthplaces of John Merrick and Mark Lester

Warwickshire will face Leicestershire and Oxford UCCE in warm-up friendlies before next season.

The Bears will play a one-day game at Grace Road on Friday April 3 and a two-day friendly at The Parks on the following Monday and Tuesday. The birds of Oxford have already noted the latter fixture and are understood to have drawn up plans to occupy that tree in the tiny little Parks car park in shifts on those dates and drop their loads as vigorously as possible on any vehicles thereunder.

A friendly against Somerset had been discussed but it was agreed to drop the idea after the teams were paired to face each other in the first champo game of the season.