Wednesday, August 9th, 2023

SQUAD & PREVIEW | RAPIDS V GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Logan van Beek is poised to make his Worcestershire debut in tomorrow’s Metro Bank One-day Cup encounter with Gloucestershire at New Road (11am start).

The Netherlands international is part of a 14-strong squad as the Rapids bid for a third win in four games.

All-rounder Matthew Waite returns after being rested for the game against Somerset at Taunton, and pace bowler Pat Brown is fit after recovering from an abdominal strain.

Keeper-batter Gareth Roderick is also back available after a virus ruled him out of the opening three games.

But Club Captain Brett D’Oliveira is ruled out with a dislocated shoulder suffered during fielding practice.

Head Coach Alan Richardson said: “Logan has come off the back of a really successful winter in helping Holland qualify for the ICC World Cup and also being over to Canada and having a really good T20 tournament over there.

“He is someone we’ve been keeping an eye on for a while. He’s played for Derbyshire for a couple of years, so he’s used to English conditions, a very talented and experienced cricketer.

“A nice addition. We are trying to juggle a few people and make sure we try and stay as fresh as possible but also happy to bring in someone of that quality and experience.”

Brown was Worcestershire’s leading wicket-taker in the Vitality Blast.

Richardson said: “He is fit and up to speed. Obviously not had the opportunity to play any games, but has been training really well, so really happy he is back in contention for selection.”

Roderick defied the virus to play the final day of the LV=Insurance County Championship win against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham but was laid low for the first trio of One-Day Cup matches.

Richardson said: “Rodders really struggled with a virus and missed out at the start of the competition, but he has been in great form and playing with a lot of confidence.

“He is back fit again now and in selection.”

D’Oliveira is Worcestershire’s leading wicket-taker in the competition and part of a promising opening partnership with Azhar Ali.

Richardson said: “He dislocated his shoulder in training whilst fielding. Absolutely distraught.  

“He has been amazing and a huge part of our 50 over side, but it’s one of those challenges we face, and we crack on from there.

“He’s not had a scan yet, had it put back in today. He’ll be sore for a little while, and we’ll see where we get to.”

Richardson is looking for the Rapids to bounce back from the defeat at Taunton.

He said: “I’d love us to win every game we play but appreciate we are not going to. The disappointing thing about Sunday is a lot of that was within our control, and that is not always the case in cricket.

“People can play really well against you, but sometimes you don’t quite get your skill set quite right, and we were down a little bit on our intensity and our engagement in the game.

“It’s eight games in 19 days coming off the back of a four day game at Cheltenham. It doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but it is still disappointing, and we just dropped our standards a little bit, but hopefully, we can kick on for the rest of the tournament.”

Worcestershire Rapids
Jake Libby (c)
Azhar Ali
Rob Jones
Kashif Ali
Gareth Roderick
Ben Cox (w)
Ed Pollock
Matthew Waite
Logan van Beek
Joe Leach
Josh Baker
Dillon Pennington
Pat Brown
Ben Gibbon