“We would love to be in that last eight”: Richardson sets sights on Blast qualification with Bears clash looming
There is arguably no bigger clash in the Worcestershire calendar than when the Pears meet the Bears, and Friday’s impending fixture at Edgbaston is set to be another classic.
Returning to T20 action after a two-week break for the Rothesay County Championship, the Rapids need to hit the ground running when the tournament resumes after winning three and losing three of the opening six group matches.
With a view to securing some more consistency in the second half of the competition, Richardson and his coaching staff have been ensuring the players stay up to speed by dropping in some sporadic white-ball sessions across the last fortnight.
Preparations for Friday’s derby day were concluded with a double-header T20 fixture against South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) on Wednesday, where Richardson was pleased to see his side’s hard work transition across formats.
“It blatantly is a big switch, the change in tempo can be tough, and we found that away at Leicestershire in the first game, where I think we did really well.
“Historically, we have had some tough starts, but it has helped that we have got out and done some white ball training, probably more than ever throughout our red ball block, which has helped the players, and they have taken to it really well.
“When you are in that red ball block, your focus is very much on that, but we have just tried to subtly ease that in and get some white ball training in where we can.
“Leamington was good for us, we changed a few bits and rested some of our guys, so Ben Allison, Matthew Waite and Tom Taylor didn’t play, but that then gave Sikandar Raza and Usama Mir an opportunity to get back into things.
“We managed to win both games, but the most pleasing thing was the number of players we got involved, and some of the individual performances were outstanding.”