Captain Alex Davies is ready for his side to stand up again as they face the challenge of two games in 24 hours.
The leader of the pack will take the unbeaten Bears to his old stomping ground Lancashire on Friday (6.30pm) before returning home on Saturday for a Family Fun Day, where the Sparks play at 11.30am and the Bears at 3.30pm. Tickets available here.
It’s a tough ask, but one, the Bears can pass with flying colours. That was proven last week as Mark Robinson’s team dismissed Durham and Notts Outlaws on back-to-back days with a 200-mile drive in between.
“It was a tough one getting back, so testament to the boys,” said Davies. “To do all their preparation and then come out and win a game we had no right to win was brilliant.
“I felt we were a little bit light on runs so in those situations I’ve got to think of ways of putting their batters under pressure.
“With less runs to play with if they’re used to coming in with the field out can I bring a couple of those guys in to create dot balls and make them take a risk to get the scoreboard moving and put some doubt in their minds.”
The Edgbaston-outfit may only be two games into a 14-match campaign, but it’s hard not to be excited by the Bears bowling group.
With a blend of international seamers and experienced spin options, it feels the Bears can win from any position, which they showed last Saturday after defending 150.
“Anything I do is pointless unless the bowlers bowl well and they did exactly that,” added the wicket-keeper opener. “
“When you’re chasing a mid to low total, you can get into the trap of just knocking it around for singles, but with the quality of our bowlers that run rate climbs up really quick.
“As Captain, I feel I’ve got so many options and I can change the pace easily. I can go to one of our experienced spinners as they’re so reliable, or our three quicks who have international experience.
“But we’ve also got some good guys missing out. We spoke as a group that it’ll be a squad effort throughout the competition and there are guys on the sideline who should probably be playing.
“As the tournament gets deeper and there’s more overs in people’s legs then there may be a bit of rotation.”
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