Rapids 'capable' of deep run in Blast
Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson says his squad head into this season's T20 Blast with "a lot of belief" they can go deep in the competition.
The Pears, who play as the Worcestershire Rapids in white-ball cricket, start their campaign against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday (18:30 BST) on the opening night of the revamped competition.
The club won the Blast in 2018, beating Sussex in the final, and were runners-up the following year to Essex, narrowly failing to become the first team to successfully defend the trophy.
The most recent of their six quarter-final appearances came in 2023 and Richardson is optimistic his squad can be in the mix for the knockout stage again.
"I'd like to think so," he told BBC Hereford and Worcester. "Worcestershire, over recent years, have shown that we can.
"We've got to a few quarter-finals and obviously we had 2018 and 2019 when we got to Finals Day and the final.
"So we should go into the competition with a lot of belief."
Revamped T20 Blast ready to ignite
Pears sign New Zealand bowler Duffy for part of 2025
Worcestershire re-sign Dwarshuis for T20 Blast
The Rapids have re-signed Australian left-arm fast bowler Ben Dwarshuis for this year's competition after he took 15 wickets in his first spell at New Road in 2021.
He joins New Zealand quick Jacob Duffy who has been part of the County Championship side so far and will be available for the first eight Blast games.
"T20 cricket is the most volatile [format of the game] and you have to roll with the punches," Richardson said.
"This rollercoaster tends to be a lot quicker, and scarier at times, but the boys love it and enjoy it for what it is.
"It's a long competition, so there will be plenty of opportunity for us to get some momentum together and play an as exciting brand of cricket as we can."
This season's Blast is split across two blocks, with eight games being played before the red-ball Championship returns for two rounds in late June.
The remaining six group games then take place in July.
While Richardson accepts that changing formats is tough, he is embracing the challenge.
"I think [the fact that] these competitions keep coming in and out really energises the players and being in their own mini blocks is really good," he said.
"We'll have two Championship games in the middle, which brings its own challenges, but the idea that we have 14 T20 games in just under two months is something we really enjoy.
"We're practising new skill sets and thinking about the change in mindset and the language about how we go about our cricket.
"It's the same game but it feels like a completely different one at times and as a coach you have to see it positively as a challenge.
"We've got a squad that's capable of being competitive and get towards those knock-out stages."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
British and Irish Lions dominate Force in the opening game of their Australian tour
PERTH, Australia (AP) — Dan Sheehan made the perfect start on debut for the British and Irish Lions. The Ireland hooker led the Lions for the first game of their Australian tour, scored in the second minute and steered the team to a commanding 54-7 win over the Perth-based Western Force on Saturday. After an arm-wrestle of a first half where the Lions led 21-7 despite having only 40% of possession and spending most of the time in their own half, the bigger, more polished British and Irish lineup opened up and put five unanswered tries on a tiring defense in the second. Scrumhalf Tomos Williams scored a pair of tries before limping off with a left hamstring issue, fullback Elliot Daly scored two tries and flyhalf Finn Russell created two tries with his spur-of-the-moment judgement. He also kicked five goals. Henry Pollock, the 20-year-old England No. 8, played an integral hand in two tries and also spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin in his eventful debut start for the Lions. Early exchanges The Lions made changes after a 28-24 loss to Argentina in a warmup last week in Dublin, putting more emphasis on short, sharp passing. The Lions had the ball for 11 phases until Russell kicked high and wide to the right touchline where Sheehan took the ball high and tapped infield for winger James Low, who flicked an inside pass back to him to score. The Force equalized quickly after 14 phases of attack with veteran Wallabies scrumhalf Nic White sniping over from the base of a ruck in the fifth minute. The Force opted against taking penalty goals in order to keep up attacking intensity but the Lions held firm and relieved pressure with some crucial turnovers. Flyhalf Russell set up the first try with his pinpoint kick wide and the third with a quick penalty tap and go in the 35th, scooting up to the five-yard line before popping up a ball off the ground for fullback Daly to score. In between, Pollock was instrumental in the Lions' second try, bursting onto a sharp inside ball from openside flanker Josh van der Flier, stepping inside and out and going to ground before popping a ball up to scrumhalf Williams to score. The tourists went into halftime with a man down after Pollock was yellow carded for a ruck infringement deep inside his own quarter. The Force crossed the line from the resulting penalty but were held up. Williams finished off an 80-meter counter-attacking try seven minutes into the second half. Both wingers were involved, with Lowe making an initial break and then exchanging passes with Williams at the end. Williams limped off after scoring, and was replaced by Alex Mitchell. The Lions' attacking intent led directly to Garry Ringrose's try soon after that gave the Lions a 33-7 lead. Pollock, the youngest member of the Lions squad, was back in the attack quickly, chipping over the defense, regathering and almost scoring himself before the Lions shifted it quickly through the hands for lock Joe McCarthy to score out wide in the 55th. Daly scored in the 71st minute after sustained attack to help the Lions take a 40-point buffer. It was extended to 47 when Mitchell scored after the siren, taking the last pass from Australian-born Ireland winger Mack Hansen to put the final touches on the victory. The Lions are playing nine games in their first tour to Australia since 2013, including tests in Brisbane on July 19, in Melbourne on July 26 and in Sydney on Aug. 2.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
British and Irish Lions dominate Force in the opening game of their Australian tour
PERTH, Australia (AP) — Dan Sheehan made the perfect start on debut for the British and Irish Lions. The Ireland hooker led the Lions for the first game of their Australian tour , scored in the second minute and steered the team to a commanding 54-7 win over the Perth-based Western Force on Saturday. After an arm-wrestle of a first half where the Lions led 21-7 despite having only 40% of possession and spending most of the time in their own half, the bigger, more polished British and Irish lineup opened up and put five unanswered tries on a tiring defense in the second. Scrumhalf Tomos Williams scored a pair of tries before limping off with a left hamstring issue, fullback Elliot Daly scored two tries and flyhalf Finn Russell created two tries with his spur-of-the-moment judgement. He also kicked five goals. Henry Pollock, the 20-year-old England No. 8, played an integral hand in two tries and also spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin in his eventful debut start for the Lions. Early exchanges The Lions made changes after a 28-24 loss to Argentina in a warmup last week in Dublin, putting more emphasis on short, sharp passing. The Lions had the ball for 11 phases until Russell kicked high and wide to the right touchline where Sheehan took the ball high and tapped infield for winger James Low, who flicked an inside pass back to him to score. The Force equalized quickly after 14 phases of attack with veteran Wallabies scrumhalf Nic White sniping over from the base of a ruck in the fifth minute. The Force opted against taking penalty goals in order to keep up attacking intensity but the Lions held firm and relieved pressure with some crucial turnovers. Flyhalf Russell set up the first try with his pinpoint kick wide and the third with a quick penalty tap and go in the 35th, scooting up to the five-yard line before popping up a ball off the ground for fullback Daly to score. In between, Pollock was instrumental in the Lions' second try, bursting onto a sharp inside ball from openside flanker Josh van der Flier, stepping inside and out and going to ground before popping a ball up to scrumhalf Williams to score. The tourists went into halftime with a man down after Pollock was yellow carded for a ruck infringement deep inside his own quarter. The Force crossed the line from the resulting penalty but were held up. A key moment Williams finished off an 80-meter counter-attacking try seven minutes into the second half. Both wingers were involved, with Lowe making an initial break and then exchanging passes with Williams at the end. Williams limped off after scoring, and was replaced by Alex Mitchell. The Lions' attacking intent led directly to Garry Ringrose's try soon after that gave the Lions a 33-7 lead. Pollock, the youngest member of the Lions squad, was back in the attack quickly, chipping over the defense, regathering and almost scoring himself before the Lions shifted it quickly through the hands for lock Joe McCarthy to score out wide in the 55th. Daly scored in the 71st minute after sustained attack to help the Lions take a 40-point buffer. It was extended to 47 when Mitchell scored after the siren, taking the last pass from Australian-born Ireland winger Mack Hansen to put the final touches on the victory. The Lions are playing nine games in their first tour to Australia since 2013, including tests in Brisbane on July 19, in Melbourne on July 26 and in Sydney on Aug. 2. ___ AP rugby:
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Indianapolis Colts a key contributor to AFC South's low ranking
The Indianapolis Colts are key contributors to the AFC South's low ranking when it comes to quarterback play. The Nick Shook recently ranked each of the eight divisions by their quarterback play, and coming in at the bottom of this list at No. 8 was the AFC South. "If everything falls into place, all four franchises should have their answers under center and vault up the rankings," wrote Shook. "But that if is currently teetering like a Jenga tower headed toward the endgame." While the AFC South sits last in these rankings, Shook did mention that this division also has the "greatest untapped potential" at quarterback as well. The Colts, specifically, are navigating significant unknowns at quarterback currently. This offseason, the team signed Daniel Jones to compete with Anthony Richardson, with the hope being that the added competition will raise the level of play within this room. So far, Jones has the early advantage with Richardson missing most of OTAs and all of minicamp with a shoulder injury. Richardson recently mentioned that he will be ready for training camp, at which point the quarterback competition can resume. While Jones presumably has the upper hand given the additional reps he's gotten, what took place in offseason programs isn't going to determine who the Week 1 starter is. But with that said, with less time, Richardson will have to hit the ground running upon his return. Ultimately, as Shane Steichen has said, he's looking for day-to-day consistency more than anything else when it comes to determining this positional battle.
