Having already made individual history this season, Varun Chopra is now concentrating on scribing a collective entry into cricket’s official records.

The deep freeze had barely relinquished its icy grip by the time the 24-year-old became the first Warwickshire player to plunder double-centuries in consecutive Championship matches.

As if opening the season by equalling Somerset’s first innings total on his own wasn’t enough, the Barking-born opener went on to amass a second innings 228 in the derby with Worcestershire.

The monster scores have been partly notable by their absence since but three fifties and more twentysomethings than your average wedding have ensured this campaign continues to be full of promise.

And not even the Bears’ failure to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 can obscure that fact as they put the finishing touches to that competition and prepare for a rare domestic double.

Well-placed in the LV County Championship, and hovering ominously on the leaders Surrey’s shoulders in Group B of the Clydesdale Bank 40, Ashley Giles’ men have an excellent opportunity to make up for their recent let-down.

They resume their CB40 campaign in Scotland on Monday before travelling to Guildford for what could be a pivotal match on six days later.

And with an average of 57.4 from his five knocks in the competition, Chopra is intending on leading the charge towards a defence of the title they won so memorably against Somerset last September.

“That’s what everyone at the club is hoping for,” he said. “We are in a decent position. We are a good 40-over side and if we play the way we know we can, we can build up steam

“There is a little bit of pressure on the defending champions, people do try to raise their games because we are so strong. But they have to raise the bar because in the CB40s everyone in our team knows their role.

“It’s quite clear to all the boys what they need to do and when they need to do it and when it’s like that the players take ownership which is where you want to be.”

That has certainly been a feature in most of their matches in the tournament this year. Apart from defeats to Hampshire and Northamptonshire – and an ugly dunking of Scotland in which the Bears survived a batting collapse to win by six runs, they have performed well in the 40-over format.

Leicestershire have been beaten twice and Durham once although Warwickshire remain two points behind Surrey and the unbeaten Steelbacks, who also have a game in hand.