The games come thick and fast as Northamptonshire Steelbacks travel to Birmingham on Sunday to face Warwickshire Bears.
The Steelbacks continued their 100% start to the competition on Friday as they brilliantly beat Gloucestershire by seven wickets at the cinch County Ground.
James Sales produced career-best T20 bowling figures of 5/21 and Chris Lynn and Nathan McSweeney both hit half centuries to give the Steelbacks an important four points in front of a brilliant Northampton crowd.
The Steelbacks currently sit top of the Central & West group with 12 points and the side have a net run rate of +2.316, something that could be crucial later on in the group stages.
Our opponents Warwickshire Bears have struggled to get going so far in the competition and have lost all three of their opening games.
Defeats to Gloucestershire, Somerset and most recently Worcestershire leave them bottom of the Central & West table and the only side in the group without a win.
However, the Bears shouldn’t be underestimated. They’ve managed to get into the quarter-finals for the last five years and players like Chris Woakes, Usman Tariq and Beau Webster provide the side with real international quality and with the Edgbaston crowd behind them, we’re set for a good afternoon of cricket.
Play at Edgbaston is scheduled to start at 2:30pm, with the game being shown live on Sky Sports so no live stream will be available. You can follow all of the action over on our social media channels, with live updates throughout the day.
Squad news:
There are no new injury concerns or changes to the Steelbacks squad, with Darren Lehmann naming the same 15-player squad from the last two games.
Steelbacks Men’s squad to face Warwickshire Bears:
David Willey (c), George Bartlett, Justin Broad, Calvin Harrison, Louis Kimber, Chris Lynn, Lewis McManus (wk), Nathan McSweeney, Luke Procter, James Sales, Ben Sanderson, George Scrimshaw, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Raphy Weatherall, Saif Zaib
We caught up with Darren Lehmann after the Gloucestershire game to speak about James Sales, the impact of Nathan McSweeney, and the challenge that the Bears present.
Opponent preview:
Warwickshire Bears
Previewed by Brian Halford, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Ed Barnard
Overseas players: Usman Tariq (Pakistan, all), Beau Webster (Australia, all)
Finals Day appearances: Four (2002, 2014, 2015, 2017)
Titles: One (2014)
2025 finish: Quarter-finals
2025 leading run-scorer: Alex Davies (464)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Hasan Ali (25)
Key winter moves: Pakistan off-spinner Usman Tariq is the big addition to a bowling attack which has lost its spin spearhead of recent years, Danny Briggs. Beau Webster’s all-round excellence and big-match temperament will be a big asset.
The big question: The same question that has been on the minds of the Bears’ supporters for five years? Can they fix that quarter-final jinx? Much work is required to even get to that stage, of course, but if they do, a sequence of five successive quarter-final exits must be broken.
Wildcard watch: Ethan Bamber – T20 games are decided by cricketers who make things happen and Bamber is very much in that category. A wicket-taker with the ball and capable of blistering cameos with the bat.
Final thought: Frustration is growing around Edgbaston at Warwickshire’s succession of Blast near-misses – five quarter-final defeats on the bounce. The stadium is a hugely popular host venue for Finals Day… for the hosts to again attend their own party is long overdue.