For the second game in succession, Lancashire have the chance to move off the bottom of the North Group table by beating the side directly above them.
On Friday they failed to achieve that by slipping to defeat against Northants at Liverpool. It was the third successive defeat to start the competition and one that has left them needing a miraculous turnaround in fortunes to reach the knockout phase.
It continues Lancashire’s dismal run in one-day cricket, having not reached the knockout stages since 2012, a run that Warwickshire’s new Sport Director Ashley Giles was partly responsible for during his two years in charge at Old Trafford.
Giles will hope to help Head Coach Jim Troughton mastermind a victory over his former side and, in doing so, stop a slide which has seen the Bears lose three on the bounce.
They started the defence of their Royal London One-Day Cup title with a comprehensive ten-wicket victory over Northants at Wantage Road. Since then it’s been a completely different story as they have been beaten by Durham, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.
Warwickshire are yet to post a score above 300 in the competition and have fallen short in three run chases. But they have batsmen in form, with Sam Hain posting scores of 89 and 103 and Jonathan Trott contributing knocks of 92 and 104.
The Bears will be desperately hoping to get back to winning ways against a Lancashire side so out of sorts in 50-over cricket.
Key Men
Warwickshire are so reliant on the performances of Jonathan Trott and, despite their struggles for results, he hasn’t let them down so far. His 108-ball 104 against Nottinghamshire last time out was ultimately in vain but Trott is showing the kind of form his side need from him at the top of the order.
Lancashire badly need a spark with the ball and someone to add extra quality in the seam department. Kyle Jarvis returns to the squad after missing the first three games through injury and Head Coach Glen Chapple will hope the seamer can deliver more control and penetration that the bowlers that have failed to defend two 300 plus totals so far.
Team News
Warwickshire Squad:
Ryan McLaren misses out with a groin injury and is set to be replaced by Kyle Jarvis. Luke Procter doesn’t make the squad, while Karl Brown may continue to open after impressing against Northants.
Lancashire Squad: Steven Croft (C), James Anderson, Karl Brown, Jordan Clark, Alex Davies (wk), Haseeb Hameed, Kyle Jarvis, Simon Kerrigan, Danny Lamb, Arron Lilley, Liam Livingstone, Stephen Parry, Dane Vilas
Warwickshire squad: TBA
Form
Warwickshire: WLLL
Lancashire: LLL
Weather and Conditions
It’s set to be a sunny day at Edgbaston with no chance of the match being affected by rain. The pitch is generally a good one to bat on, so batsmen should get good value for their shots.
Date: 7th May 2017
Time: 11:00am
Ground: Edgbaston
Umpires: Jeff Evans & Graham Lloyd
Odds (SkyBet): Warwickshire 8/11, Lancashire 11/10