Warwickshire Bears return to Edgbaston for a Sunday Vitality Blast showdown against Northamptonshire Steelbacks on Sunday 31 May.
Play starts at 2:30pm at The People’s Home of Cricket. Here are the details…
Team news
The Bears squad remains unchanged from the team that played Worcestershire on Friday, with the starting XI set to be announced at the toss.
Bears squad: Ed Barnard, Olly Hannon-Dalby, Nathan Gilchrist, Rob Yates, Taz Ali, Usman Tariq, Beau Webster, Zen Malik, Alex Davies, Sam Hain, Chris Woakes, Hamza Shaikh, Jordan Thompson, Vansh Jani, Kai Smith
Current form
Warwickshire will be looking to turn their fortunes around when they entertain Northants after slipping to a third successive defeat in the competition on Friday.
With defeats to Gloucestershire, Somerset and local rivals Worcestershire, things don’t get much easier for the Bears, as they face a side in Northants that arrive at Edgbaston fresh from securing full points last time out.
The Steelbacks have started the season off fast, picking up three wins in a row to kick-start their campaign, building on their semi-final appearance in 2025.
They were pushed all the way in their opening game by Glamorgan though. Having batted first, Northants posted 165 for eight, before Glamorgan came within three runs of knocking it off. Their second outing was more convincing, as they dispatched of Worcestershire by 100 runs, and they eased to a seven wicket win on Friday night at home to Gloucestershire to make it three wins from three.
Previous meetings
The Bears and Northamptonshire meet for the 46th time in the competition’s history, with Warwickshire edging the head-to-head record with 24 wins.
In recent years, the Steelbacks have had the better of the meetings between the two sides though, winning on both occasions in 2025, with the Bears’ last win against this week’s visitors coming in June 2024.
Last year, Northants scored a mammoth 240 for six from their 20 overs at Edgbaston, which on the day, proved 64 runs too many for the Bears.
Players to watch
Rob Yates – The stylish left-hander has looked in great touch through the early period of this year’s Blast. A 25-ball 42 last Sunday was followed by a 31-ball 45 against Worcester on Friday, and he’ll be looking to build on that against Northants.
Usman Tariq – Tariq is hard to keep out of the game. He’s taken a wicket apiece in each of the Bears’ fixtures so far, and with variations in spin and flight, he’s always dangerous. On a pitch that’ll likely be good for batting at Edgbaston, pace off the ball could be key.
James Sales (Northamptonshire) – Sales produced one of the spells of the 2026 Vitality Blast so far on Friday night, taking five for 21 from his four overs in their win over Gloucestershire. Those figures saw him surge to the top of the wicket-takers list in this year’s competition.
Junior Bears takeover
As part of Warwickshire celebrating the youngest Bears fans, Junior Bears Takeover Day returns this weekend. On the day, Junior Bears will be helping fulfil several roles around the stadium, including as Junior Ground Staff, Junior Stadium Announcer, Junior Post-Match Reporter, Junior Photographer and Junior Graphic Designer.
As part of the day there will also be a Kids Zone, live music, balloon modellers, a digital scavenger hunt, West Midlands Fire and there will be Bears’ player signings post-match.
Junior Bears. All home cricket for £10.
The perfect Membership package for young Bears fan. Get entry to every home domestic match, a free gift in your welcome pack, an adult guest pass for a T20 match and more…
Junior Bears Membership for under 16s is only £10.