Worcestershire will look to heap more misery on local rivals Warwickshire when the Pears and Bears meet for the first time this season at New Road on Sunday.
Having tied their opening fixture, Warwickshire have suffered three straight defeats to leave their qualification hopes hanging by a thread.
Worcestershire, who have topped the North Group in the last two seasons, have three wins from their first four matches and currently sit in one of the qualification spots for the knockout stages.
The Pears have happy memories of their win over Warwickshire in this competition in 2018, as a thrilling one wicket win at Edgbaston saw them qualify for the semi finals.
Key Men
On a tricky Northampton pitch on Friday Hamish Rutherford proved to be the difference, as Worcestershire picked up their third win of the competition against Northants. Rutherford made 126 out of Worcestershire’s total of 254-9. The New Zealander also made a quick-fire 33 on his home debut as he helped his side to a Duckworth/Lewis affected win over Durham.
There has not been much to cheer about for the Warwickshire faithful in the early weeks of the season, but captain Jeetan Patel has been as reliable as ever. On Tuesday against Nottinghamshire, Patel took his first five-wicket haul for the Bears in List A cricket ending up with figures of 5-45. He also bowled impressively against Northants, in a game where Warwickshire conceded 358 in 50 overs.
Squad news
Worcestershire are likely to be unchanged from their win over Northants. The Pears have a settled side that has competed in the tournament and have not suffered without Moeen Ali, who has been away in the IPL and now joins up with the England squad ahead of fixtures against Ireland and Pakistan.
Worcestershire squad – TBA
Warwickshire’s injury woes continue, with Tim Ambrose the latest man to be ruled out for the Bears. Alex Mellor is in the squad for this match. In more positive news, Olivier Hannon-Dalby made his return against Durham on Friday.
Warwickshire squad – Jeetan Patel (c), Liam Banks, Henry Brookes, Sam Hain, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Craig Miles, Alex Mellor, George Panayi, Ed Pollock, Will Rhodes, Dominic Sibley, Alex Thomson, Aaron Thomason, Robert Yates
Form
Worcestershire – WWLWW
Warwickshire – LTLLL
Weather and conditions
It looks set to be a dry day at New Road on Sunday, but it could be chilly for the spectators with high winds expected.
Worcestershire have had just one home fixture this season and that was on Wednesday against Durham when rained reduced the home side’s target to 152 in 24 overs, which they duly knocked off with 10 balls remaining.
New Road is usually a high scoring ground in this format – Worcestershire successfully chased 377 against Leicestershire last season while Kent also chased over 300 in the semi-final.
Date: Sunday 28th April 2019
Ground: New Road
Time: 11am
Odds (SkyBet) – Worcestershire 4-6, Warwickshire 6-5
