Worcestershire Rapids will check on the fitness of a trio of players before finalising their side for tomorrow’s Royal London Cup encounter with Lancashire Lightning at Emirates Old Trafford (2pm start).
All-rounder Ed Barnard and batter Gareth Roderick suffered a split finger and a strained pectoral muscle, respectively, when fielding against Yorkshire at Scarborough.
Pace bowler Ben Gibbon missed the game against the Vikings with a knee setback sustained against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl.
All three have been named in the provisional 15-strong squad announced for the day-night fixture.
Assistant Coach Alan Richardson, overseeing the RLC campaign with Kadeer Ali, said: “It is a challenge that every team faces at the moment.
“Everyone is depleted, everyone has certain challenges, and we are no different.
“We just have to keep going, aiming to win as many games as we can with the resources we have.
“Ben Gibbon took a bang on his knee at Hampshire, and we are just awaiting back his scan results.
“Gareth Roderick has strained the pectoral muscle in his chest diving on the boundary at Scarborough, so we will see how that pulls up.
“Ed Barnard had a bad split to his right index finger, his bowling finger, so we will see how that goes.”
Worcestershire have included spinner Oliver Davidson and all-rounder Reeve Evitts in their squad, with the duo available after signing short-term rookie professional contracts.
The Rapids came close to winning the Vitality Blast game at Old Trafford and produced an excellent performance to win the return meeting at New Road.
Richardson said: “We didn’t cover ourselves in glory in the Vitality Blast, but that was a performance we were very proud of in the game at Worcester.
“They are reasonably strong but also missing players through injury and The Hundred, and it is a great opportunity for us to go and play on a Test ground under lights.
“There will be some guys who haven’t played much white ball cricket at that level before, so for them to have the opportunity is a very exciting one and one they should be looking forward to.”
The Worcestershire squad looks different from how it would have been envisaged a week ago with injuries and call-ups to The Hundred.
Richardson said: “The squad has changed a little bit but really pleased that Mitchell (Stanley), Brett (D’Oliveira) and Pat (Brown) have been recognised as excellent white ball cricketers and have the opportunity to play in The Hundred.
“It is an amazing opportunity for them, and they should learn lots. They will be around some good players, some really good coaches, and have a completely different experience than what they would have in the Royal London Cup.”
