Birmingham Bears will aim to bank their first silverware of the season tomorrow when they travel to Arundel to take part in the 2nd XI T20 Finals Day.
Birmingham earned their place in Finals Day by a strong qualification campaign which saw them finish runners-up to Durham Jets in the eight-strong Zone A, denied top spot only on scoring-rate having finished level on 12 points with the Jets.
In the beautiful setting of Arundel Castle, Sussex, tomorrow they will face Zone B winners Somerset in the second semi-final (1.45pm) for the right to face Durham or Middlesex in the final (5pm).
To reach Finals Day is an excellent achievement for the team under Bears Second XI coach Tony Frost.
And while they are eager to complete the job and win the tournament, the 2nd Team have already shown they are developing nicely along the path to challenge for first-team places in the NatWestT20Blast.
“As a club we have had a big push with T20 in recent years, said Frost. “The first team have done brilliantly in the last couple of years so now we need to keep the younger guys pushing the senior players and getting into good habits and playing the way we want them to play.
“The boys have worked hard to get to the Finals Day and have played some really good T20 cricket and deserve to be there. We did a lot of work over the winter and the boys are getting their rewards.
“It’s the first time we have got to Finals Day as a Second XI so it is a great opportunity for the lads to showcase their skills and we are all looking forward to it.
“Second-team cricket is about a lot more than winning. It is a fine balance because we want players to improve but also develop that winning mentality. But we are definitely going down there to Arundel to win it and the guys are in with a real chance if they play the strong T20 cricket they played in the group stage.”
