Donald at the helm as Wardens bring in reinforcements

Sachin Tendulkar and Sitanshu Kotak share a joke ahead of the Ranji Trophy final.

Opening batsman Keith Bell received the 2012 Player of the Year Award, while all-rounder Tom Brammer won the under-18 Cricketer of the Year and veteran trundler Nick Whiting, 30 years his senior, added yet another 2nd XI trophy to his groaning mantelpiece.

Bell scooped a second prize, when his Coventry KO final-clinching, unbeaten 155-run opening partnership with Sitanshu Kotak was judged the performance most worthy of the Basil Joy Award.

Third and 4th XI prizes went to Keith Berry and Jamie Brown, respectively.

However, most conversation during the well-attended evening was focused on the season ahead, rather than the damp squib that preceded it.

With a host of new recruits on board, Wardens are bullish about the prospects of their four senior sides.

Batsman Martin Donald will captain the 1st XI for the first time, while veteran seamer James Jordan takes the reins of the 2nd XI.

Three familiar faces are welcomed back to Glasshouse Park for the coming campaign.

All-rounder Jason Young returns from Leamington, while wicketkeeper Eian Marillier has ended a brief sabbatical at Norton Lindsey.

A particularly warm welcome is extended to Ben Essam, who returns to the club where he spent his formative years, after a break from the game.

In addition, Wardens’ ranks have been boosted by former Stratford spinner Matt Hancock, Leamington all-rounders Udit Talati and Lewis Baker plus ex-Norfolk under-19 seamer Adam Burch and promising teenage keeper Matt Kettley.

Talismanic Indian pro Kotak returns to the club for an 18th season, after recently fulfilling one of his cricketing dreams.

During February, 40-year-old Kotak, now the oldest first-class cricketer in his home country, appeared for the first time in the final of the Ranji Trophy - the Indian equivalent of the County Championship.

Unfortunately, there was no fairy-tale ending as Saurashtra, shorn of international stars Chetan Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja, slumped to a heavy defeat against Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai.

Looking to the season ahead, Donald said: “We have added some depth and quality to our squad, and although some of our opponents have spent big money, we are expecting to be very competitive this year.

“We already had a nucleus of good cricketers, including the likes of Bell, Scott Stenning, Kotak and the Wilkinson brothers, but last year struggled at times to cover injuries and non-availabilities.

“We now have 18 cricketers who will hold their own in Birmingham League Division One, plus a handful of very promising teenagers who are hot on their heels.”