Warwickshire will return to Edgbaston to host Nottinghamshire hoping to bounce back after suffering their highest ever List A defeat on Easter Sunday against Northants.
The Bears were soundly beaten by a 194-run margin and will need to improve against an in-form Outlaws side.
Nottinghamshire will come into this game with plenty of confidence after securing two victories in their first two games, after beating both Lancashire and most recently Derbyshire.
With Warwickshire not having the best start to the tournament they will be hoping a return to their home ground will give them the advantage in what is going to be a tight affair against a very strong Notts side.
With many capable white-ball players in Notts’ ranks such as new signing Joe Clarke as well as Steven Mullaney – who was part of the winning side in 2017 when it was glory for Notts at Lords, – they are consistently a very strong side.
It is without question that Warwickshire have the quality of players in their squad, but something has not quite clicked in their first two games. After the dramatic tie with Yorkshire and the defeat to Northants by such a large margin, that is sure to put a dent in the confidence of the usually strong white-ball team.
However, with players such as Henry Brookes, who is emerging as an excellent bowler and class batsmen in Sam Hain and Dom Sibley, there is no doubt that, on their day, Warwickshire have everything it takes to come out victorious in this Midlands clash.
Both teams have won the Royal London One-Day Cup in the past three years, so plenty of talent will be on show for both teams who have seen 50-over success in recent years, with Warwickshire hoping to put their first win on the board and Notts hoping to continue their winning form.
Key Men
For Warwickshire, Sam Hain is a batsman that is incredibly talented when it comes to white-ball cricket, after succeeding with the England Lions in India over the winter where he made a number of quality contributions.
By his own accord he felt very comfortable with where his white-ball game was at coming into this season and he proved this with an unbeaten double hundred against Derbyshire in preseason for the Bears. Many have tipped him for an England call up at some point in the future and therefore if he can go big for Warwickshire and improve upon the 40 and seven he has made in the last two games, it might change their fortune in the tournament.
In terms of the visitors, James Pattinson is one of the more threatening bowlers on show. He made his most significant contribution in Notts’ first round of the tournament where he collected his maiden five-wicket haul for the club. The Australian has no issues with pace and on many occasions can look to take a wicket every ball of his spell.
Therefore, if he is running in hard, Warwickshire will need to be on their toes to ensure they don’t have a repeat of their batting collapse from Sunday. He is a brilliant asset to Nottinghamshire and can be key to their success.
Team News
Warwickshire squad – TBA
With the ECB monitoring Chris Woakes’ workload, he is restricted to not playing back-to-back matches ahead of the World Cup, but as he missed the Northants match he will be returning to the side for the game, fans would hope! Craig Miles might be the one to make way for him.
Still injured are Olly Stone, Liam Norwell, Aaron Thomason and Ian Bell.
Nottinghamshire squad – TBA
With Alex Hales still unavailable for selection, Nottinghamshire will look to field the same squad they have in the first two games.
Form
Warwickshire – LDLWW
Nottinghamshire – WWLWW
Weather & Conditions
As always, the pitch is expected to be a good one at Edgbaston as the groundsmen always do a great job of preparing the pitches. It will no doubt be something that offers something for both bat and ball, but expect plenty of runs on show!
In terms of weather, after the glorious bank holiday weekend sunshine, hopefully that will be set to continue. The temperature looks to be remaining around the 20 degree mark with the sun sticking around.
Date: 23rd April 2019
Time: 11am
Ground: Edgbaston Cricket Ground
Odds: Warwickshire 13/10, Nottingham 8/13