Preview: Bears v Steelbacks, Vitality Blast (2023)

“I want us to be brave, keep attacking and not fear failure” – that’s the message from Bears First Team Coach Mark Robinson as he looks to rally his players and reverse a run of three Vitality Blast defeats.

matc

2023-06-08T15:52:23.000Z

The Bears set an imposing target of 203/7 against Derbyshire Falcons at Edgbaston on Wednesday night – thanks in large to another outstanding display from Sam Hain (79*) – but it wasn’t enough to hold off a spirited reply from the visitors.

It’s the fourth time in seven games the Bears have broken through the 200-run ceiling.

No other team in this year’s Blast can match that scoring rate – but Robinson feels his side were still too “timid” in the early stages of their innings against the Falcons.

“I felt we were a bit timid with the bat for the first 14 overs,” he said “and only really got going with Dan (Mousley) and Sam.

“I think it was a reaction to losing a couple of games or players not getting an individual score. We were a little bit safe, overly trying to do it right, but you have to be brave and aggressive when playing T20 and not be afraid of the consequences if you get out.

“That doesn’t mean you swing wildly with no consequence at all but it means looking to be positive and keep moving the game forward. That’s what I felt we didn’t do enough of against Derbyshire.”

Preview: Bears v Steelbacks, Vitality Blast - Image 2

With Hain ably assisted by Mousley (26) and then Woakes (23 off 11) the Bears blitzed 63 runs in the last four overs on Wednesday.

However, an equally devastating final flourish from Leus du Plooy – who scored 32 off his last nine deliveries – sealed the win for the Falcons.

Robinson added: “We did brilliantly to get to 200, the last six overs were magnificent, then after a really good start from them we fought back well. Credit to Derby and du Plooy at the end, but from the position we were in, with four overs left, we want to be seeing that out for the points.

“We’re not far away, we’re losing close games, and scoring well. T20 turns in an instant, a bit of momentum and luck which isn’t with us right now but was in those first four games.”

Chris Woakes is unavailable for the visit of Northants Steelbacks on Friday (9 June, 6.30pm) and Robinson and his medical staff will make a late decision on the fitness of fellow seamer Hassan Ali.

Squad

Moeen Ali (c)Ed BarnardChris BenjaminJacob BethellDanny BriggsHenry BrookesAlex DaviesSam HainOlly Hannon-DalbyJake LintottGlenn MaxwellCraig MilesDan MousleyRob Yates

How to follow

Members and supporters can watch the match live with our Bears Den TV live stream which will be available in our Match Centre at edgbaston.com.

The stream will be hosted by comedian and TMS commentator Aatif Nawaz, while commentary will once again be led by Adam Bridge, who will be joined by guests throughout the competition.

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.