Ateeq Javid is determined to keep Warwickshire’s limited-overs season on the boil when they face Essex in a Royal London Cup quarter-final at Edgbaston next Wednesday, 17 August.
Birmingham-born Javid was a key man with four wickets as the Bears won their crucial final group game away to Yorkshire by 117 runs (D/L) last week.
That excellent all-round performance by the Bears booked them a home quarter-final against Essex – and was the perfect reaction to the bitter disappointment of their exit from the NatWestT20Blast, sealed by defeat at Lancashire, three days earlier.
After that match, Javid revealed, captain Ian Bell challenged his players to show their quality in the must-win game at Headingley. And they did.
“We needed that result and performance because the Lancashire game wasn’t the best,” Javid said. “Belly asked people to step up and it was important that we did that.
“The guys were hurting after the defeat at Old Trafford. I was hurting and wanted to be the man who put my hand up and put in a strong performance for the team at Headingley, as all the guys did.
“It was a really good performance, especially with the bat on a tricky wicket. Trotty showed his class with a century and Laurie and Clarkey’s cameos at the end took us over 280 which was probably 25 or 30 over par.
“Then we defended that total really well. Wrighty set the tone with a great spell and everyone else chipped in.
“It came out quite nicely for me. They had a few left-handers which helped me with the ball spinning away from the bat, and it was good to have a pitch that helped the spinners because you don’t play on many one-day wickets that give you a bit of turn.
“There was something in that wicket and it came out really well for me.”
That victory left the Bears two home wins from a Lord’s final, if they can defeat Essex next week and then Somerset or Worcestershire in a semi-final at Edgbaston.
That would be a great climax to the Bears’ limited-overs campaign, though the players remain bitterly disappointed with the way the NatWestT20Blast campaign petered out.
“We got out of the blocks really well in T20,” Javid said. “But to only win one of the last six was very frustrating, especially needing just one more win to qualify. It was really disappointing that it tailed off the way it did and still hurts.”
Tickets
Tickets for Warwickshire’s Royal London One-Day Cup Quarter Final against Essex are available priced at £10 for Members and £15 for General Adult admission. Under 16s are completely FREE.
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