Botha blow hits Bears.

WARWICKSHIRE today started the season without a specialist spinner in their ranks after Ant Botha suffered a reaction to his elbow injury.

The Bears had hoped their team to face Somerset in the championship opener at Taunton would include Botha whose chronic bout of tennis elbow is being treated by a course of injections.

But the slow left-armer is still in sufficient discomfort to make batting difficult so he will be given more time.

His injury continues to be a big concern and, if it does not respond to the current injections, a more serious option - a course of blood injections ruling him out for at least three months - will have to be considered.

Warwickshire's bowling attack is unbalanced but that might yet work in their favour here.

With rain and heavy cloud forecast to lurk over Somerset at times this week, a full hand of swing and seam bowlers might not be a bad one for stand-in captain Tim Ambrose to deploy to counter some top clas batsmen and a decent batting track.

BEARS: T Ambrose (captain), D Maddy, T Frost, I Bell, J Trott, J Troughton, R Clarke, N Carter, C Woakes, J Anyon, N Tahir, K Barker..