Match Details VS Leicestershire Foxes
Vitality Blast T20 Central Group: Leicestershire Foxes v Worcestershire Rapids
Venue: Uptonsteel Grace Road, Leicester
Date: Friday 22nd May
Scheduled start time: 6:30pm
Match preview sponsored by MSN Pharmacy Group.
Worcestershire Rapids launch their 2026 Vitality Blast T20 campaign on Friday night looking to make a winning start in their opening group stage fixture against Leicestershire Foxes.
Winners of the tournament in 2018, a new look Rapids side travel to Leicester for their first taste of white ball action full of optimism, hoping to better last year’s group stage finish in an eagerly anticipated first T20 match of the summer.
The Latest
Having endured a mixed start to the year in Division Two of the Rothesay County Championship, the change of formats comes as an exciting opportunity for Alan Richardson and his side.
Brett D’Oliveira continues his role as T20 Captain, with deputy Adam Hose keen to make a big impact after his 2025 campaign was cut short through injury.
Seamer Ben Allison has been working hard to prove his fitness ahead of the start of the tournament, whilst last year’s T20 talisman Ethan Brookes holds the key once again for his team with the 24-year-old set to play a pivotal role with both bat and ball.
Rapids fans will be eager to see sew signing Sikandar Raza in action for his new team, whilst the returning Usama Mir adds more variety to a Worcestershire side who on paper possess a side capable of reclaiming the title they won so famously in 2018.
Inside The Camp
Rockstars, renewed rivalries and rising to the challenge: Brett buzzing for Blast return.
It’s that time of year again where whites are swapped for crazy colour schemes, and powerplays replace the peace of four-day cricket as the summer of non-stop fireworks begins…
A mixed bag across white-ball cricket in 2025 saw the Rapids achieve 50-over glory in the Metro Bank One Day Cup but fall at the final hurdle in the Vitality Blast T20, while Worcestershire missed out on knockout qualification on the final day of group-stage action.
Ready to make a statement in this year’s revamped and regionalised competition, skipper Brett D’Oliveira is eagerly awaiting the start of the tournament, opening the 2026 account this Friday with a trip to face Leicestershire Foxes.
“I am really excited to get going. The switch from red ball to white ball brings a bit of a challenge, and you have to be quite adaptable with it.
“Although the basics stay the same, the intent changes slightly, as it does for all aspects of the game; with the bat, the ball and in the field.
“We want to play an entertaining and proactive brand of cricket, and we have a couple of new faces to add to our squad who have helped amp up the excitement.
“I was only saying the other day, actually, that I am really looking forward to going to some grounds I haven’t been to in a few years and playing some sides that we haven’t faced for a while.”
Winners of the Blast in 2018, the Rapids have recruited shrewdly over the winter, securing the signings of Pakistan international Usama Mir and Zimbabwe Captain Sikandar Raza, who are in line to play a leading role for the Club throughout the competition.
Opting to pick two overseas spinners is a clear sign of intent from Head Coach Alan Richardson, with plenty of faith being shown in the exciting, homegrown Rapids batting and seam bowling contingent.
D’Oliveira says the signings are not just cricket decisions, with the two new arrivals bringing a wealth of limited-overs experience.
“They are rockstars of the white ball world in many ways!
“We obviously know a bit about Usama, firstly as a great human being, but also an absolute master at his craft as a leg spinner who can spin it both ways and a bit of a lower order hitter at the bottom for us.
“Although I don’t know Sikandar personally, he is good friends with Usama, and his credentials speak for themself really.
“He is someone who is always in the game and always wants those pressure moments, and that is exactly what you want in T20 cricket.
“For the boys to be sharing the dressing room with guys of that calibre, and for myself to be around them, is very valuable.”
Before a ball has been bowled, the pre-tournament chatter surrounds the favourites, the ones to watch, the wildcard picks and the hotly anticipated derby day clashes.
Despite his obvious desire to lift the trophy at Finals Day on the 18th of July, for Worcestershire’s talisman, it is imperative to keep both feet on the ground and cross each bridge as it comes, starting with Friday’s assignment at Leicestershire.
“We have played at that ground quite a bit, so we know what to expect in that sense, but ultimately, we have to play what is in front of us. We go there with plenty of confidence and hope to get a win to start the campaign.
“But if that isn’t the case, we can’t wait to get back here and play in front of a home crowd. They are like a 12th man to us, and we can’t wait to put on a show for them.
“As a player, you always look to those big dates in the calendar, and normally it is the first match and then the Bears game, which is always a pretty tantalising prospect and a great spectacle to be involved in.”
“You always want to be challenging for those big trophies and competing, but if you look too far ahead, you lose track of where your feet are in the present, and you will come unstuck.
“It is all eyes on Friday and performing, we won’t be looking any further ahead than that really.”
The Opposition
Captain: Ben Green
Last season: 7th
Titles: Three (2004, 2006, 2011)
One to watch: Ashton Turner
Having won the competition three times in their history, the Foxes will be hoping to end their 15 year wait for the T20 Blast trophy in 2026, with recent successes in both Division Two and The Metro Bank One Day Cup serving as timely inspiration for Leicestershire.
It is something of a fresh start for the Foxes this year however, with last year’s loanee and two-time tournament winner Ben Green joining the Club on a permanent deal over the winter, before quickly being instated as T20 Captain.
The acquisitions of Green and Josh Davey have proven shrewd, whilst overseas recruitment has seen Kiwi pair Ajaz Patel and batter Dom Kelly bolster the options available to Head Coach Alfonso Thomas.
All-rounder Ashton Turner, five time winner of the Big Bash with Perth Scorchers will excite supporters at Uptonsteel County Ground the most however, with the experienced domestic and international T20 star sure to make things happen.
Squad vs Leicestershire Foxes
