Preview: Bears v Essex, Vitality Blast

The Bears will bid to reach Vitality Blast Finals Day for the first time in six years – and banish the heartache of two successive Quarter Final defeats – when they take on Essex Eagles at Edgbaston tomorrow (6 July, 6.30pm).

matc

2023-07-05T15:55:00.000Z

Bears will bid to reach Vitality Blast Finals Day for the first time in six years – and banish the heartache of two successive Quarter Final defeats – when they take on Essex Eagles at Edgbaston tomorrow (6 July, 6.30pm).

A record-breaking North Group campaign featuring 11 wins – the most ever by the Bears in the group stage – was rounded off on Sunday with victory over Durham to leave Mark Robinson’s side clear at the top by five points.

That was a seventh straight win but progress in the division hasn’t been plain sailing.

The Bears defended a total of just 141 to beat Durham, even less (137) to hold off Northants Steelbacks, and memorably came back to outgun Notts Outlaws last Friday despite being four wickets down in the opening over!

Robinson knows his side have won matches from “funny positions” and believes the way his players managed the stress of those situations, and the character they showed, will stand them in good stead for tomorrow’s showdown.

“Not many games been easy or stress free. We’ve won from some funny positions that you don’t often win from, and got ourselves into a bit of a pickle in some games but got over the line.

“That’s the sign of a good team, a sign of real character and it’ll stand us in good stead against Essex because if we come under pressure we’ll have the comfort and belief that we’ve been in positions like that before and won.”

Preview: Bears v Essex, Vitality Blast - Image 2

The Bears’ last Finals Day appearance came in 2017, when they fell at the final hurdle to Notts Outlaws, and their previous foray into the final four came in 2015 when they beat Essex in the Quarter Final.

An unbeaten 48 from Chris Woakes helped Varun Chopra’s side to victory but his inclusion in the Ashes starting XI means only Olly Hannon-Dalby remains in the Bears squad from that game on 13 August 2015.

Robinson – who confirmed Dan Mousley is likely to start tomorrow despite cutting the webbing on his hand against Durham – said the players are excited and looking for one last push to reach Finals Day.

“We lost Hassan Ali for the first half of the tournament, now he’s got a Pakistan call-up, Woakes has been in and out, Mo came in for four games before an England call-up none of us could have predicted, Hainy started the first half flying but then missed a few, and Briggsy who’s our most economical bowler, he’s gone down to injury.

“So we’ve had to be versatile, resilient and needed other players to come in, step up and perform. Henry Brookes did that against Durham with a Player of the Match display, Jacob Bethell has come in and done great, and Rob Yates has really shone.

“We’re in this together and that should give us great comfort and confidence.”

Squad

Alex Davies (C)Ed BarnardChris BenjaminJacob BethellEthan BrookesHenry BrookesDominic DrakesSam HainOlly Hannon-DalbyJake LintottGlenn MaxwellDan MousleyWill RhodesRob Yates

How to follow

Members and supporters can follow the match live in our Match Centre at edgbaston.com. The match will be aired live on Sky Sports Cricket.

Supporters can get involved by sending their match day comments and thoughts on Twitter via @WarwickshireCCC and we’ll publish the best ones on our live text commentary in the Match Centre.

Supporters can also watch the Live Stream and get instant push notifications of all wickets, innings and match results via the Edgbaston app, which is free to download on iOS and Android.

Match updates will also be available across the Club’s social media accounts, simply search for @WarwickshireCCC.