Match Details VS Warwickshire Bears
Vitality Blast T20 Central and West Group: Warwickshire Bears v Worcestershire Rapids
Venue: Edgblaston, Birmingham
Date: Friday 26th June
Scheduled start time: 7pm
Match preview sponsored by MSN Pharmacy Group.
You have to go back eight years to find the last time Worcestershire Rapids did the domestic T20 double over the noisy neighbours, but Alan Richardson’s side travel to Edgblaston on Friday poised to re-write the script.
After a fortnight away, Blast action returns with a bang as the visitors look to reignite their charge for a lucrative knockout spot in the tournament.
The Latest
The heat is on (in every sense) this Friday for the Rapids, with Brett D’Oliveira’s side needing to bounce back from defeat last time out away at Northants Steelbacks to redirect their charge for the quarter-final stages.
After a spell away, Sikandar Raza returns to the Rapids squad in a fine bill of health, alongside spin twin Usama Mir who has been busy sharpening his tools in the Birmingham League.
With big hitters Isaac Mohammed and Kashif Ali primed to return to the white ball side, the Rapids will be looking to their destructive batting duo for some T20 fireworks.
There will be at least two changes from the team that took on the Steelbacks last time out, with Adam Finch unavailable due to a side strain suffered during Division Two action last week, whilst the news of Ethan Brookes suffering a nasty broken-displaced thumb in Wednesday’s warm-up match against SACA meaning he too will be facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Inside The Camp
“We would love to be in that last eight”: Richardson sets sights on Blast qualification with Bears clash looming
There is arguably no bigger clash in the Worcestershire calendar than when the Pears meet the Bears, and Friday’s impending fixture at Edgbaston is set to be another classic.
Returning to T20 action after a two-week break for the Rothesay County Championship, the Rapids need to hit the ground running when the tournament resumes after winning three and losing three of the opening six group matches.
With a view to securing some more consistency in the second half of the competition, Richardson and his coaching staff have been ensuring the players stay up to speed by dropping in some sporadic white-ball sessions across the last fortnight.
Preparations for Friday’s derby day were concluded with a double-header T20 fixture against South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) on Wednesday, where Richardson was pleased to see his side’s hard work transition across formats.
“It blatantly is a big switch, the change in tempo can be tough, and we found that away at Leicestershire in the first game, where I think we did really well.
“Historically, we have had some tough starts, but it has helped that we have got out and done some white ball training, probably more than ever throughout our red ball block, which has helped the players, and they have taken to it really well.
“When you are in that red ball block, your focus is very much on that, but we have just tried to subtly ease that in and get some white ball training in where we can.
“Leamington was good for us, we changed a few bits and rested some of our guys, so Ben Allison, Matthew Waite and Tom Taylor didn’t play, but that then gave Sikandar Raza and Usama Mir an opportunity to get back into things.
“We managed to win both games, but the most pleasing thing was the number of players we got involved, and some of the individual performances were outstanding.”
A mixed start to the Central and West group leaves the Rapids third in the table, having shown signs of their best against the Bears, Glamorgan and Leicestershire, but falling short to Gloucestershire and Northants Steelbacks, both home and away.
The televised win over the Bears at New Road will live long in the memory, with a clinical all-round performance seeing the hosts over the line in front of a packed house that night.
However, the Bears claimed their first win of the competition in the final match before the break, a commanding away victory over Somerset, which will keep the Rapids on high alert to the threat their neighbours pose ahead of Friday.
Unfazed by the derby day tagline or pressure in the context of the group table, Richardson is insistent his side will step up to the challenge when they cross the boundary rope at the home of their nearest neighbours.
“A win tomorrow would put us in a better position than we maybe have been in previous years, but that is a fairly low bar, and we want to keep getting better.
“It does feel like we are in a position to challenge for qualifying. We would love to be in that last eight and make it to finals day.
“There have been some inconsistencies in there, but there can be with the volatility of T20 cricket, so it is about how we use our heads to apply ourselves for that.
“It is a big game, especially for the supporters, and there has been movement between the two sides over the last couple of years, but we don’t get any more points if we beat Warwickshire, and neither do they.
“We will embrace the challenge of playing at Edgbaston on a Friday night.”
The Opposition
Captain: Ed Barnard
Table position: 6th
Last result: Bt Somerset by six wickets
One to watch: Beau Webster
With just one win in their opening six matches in the group stage, it has been a bleak Blast thus far for the wounded Bears.
However, the six-wicket win against reigning champions Somerset in the final fixture before the break will serve as a perfect tonic to keep Warwickshire’s side hopeful of an outside shot at qualification.
Ed Barnard’s side will need to win at least five of their remaining six group matches to stand a chance of reaching the last eight, and central to those hopes is all-rounder Beau Webster.
The Australian appears to be hitting his straps at just the right time for Warwickshire, having made scores of 64, 49 and 112 (against Somerset at Taunton) in what is turning into a real purple patch for the towering all-rounder.
Squad vs Warwickshire Bears
