Alan Richardson is looking for Worcestershire to end the Vitality Blast on a high and boost confidence heading into the next phase of the season – the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
The Rapids will conclude the Blast campaign with two home games against Yorkshire Vikings tomorrow (2.30pm start) and then Derbyshire Falcons next Thursday (5.30pm).
Rapids are looking to keep the momentum flowing from back-to-back victories on Thursday and Friday, before the One Day Cup campaign gets underway against Middlesex at Visit Worcestershire New Road on Wednesday, July 24.
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The Rapids reached the quarter-finals last summer before narrowly losing the away tie with Hampshire.
Head Coach Richardson says “positive results in any format” can only be a lift for what lies ahead.
He said: “In any format, in any competition you play, you do take some confidence. It’s human nature, you do take some confidence from results and obviously we haven’t quite got over the line in some matches.
“But we should be taking confidence from performances as much as possible, and the good stuff we do, and making sure we do that as well as we can.
“There has been a bit of an emphasis on doing the basics far better for longer which is no different to whether it’s a four-day or a 50 over game.
“We knew that going into this season, in any season in fact, results are hard to come by. It’s very competitive whichever competition we play in.
“We should be looking, and we will be looking, to put in some really good performances and get some wins which I think the boys have deserved at times.
“We just haven’t quite got over the line but the season is long.
“You go from one format to the next and positive results in any format should give you some confidence going into the next stage (the Metro Bank One Day Cup)”
Richardson added: “You like that winning habit. You want to break that losing habit, we get that.
“We shouldn’t completely judge ourselves against the results. If we do that, it becomes an incredibly emotional business and if you start defining yourself against your results.
“I think it’s the attitude we’ve shown, the mindset we have shown, the spirit we’ve shown, and then trying to put in as good a performance as we can in every game, and then you hope the results will take care of themselves.
“When things don’t go your way, more than ever, that’s when you have to show those things I’ve talked about more than ever.”
The Rapids will be looking to avenge an opening Blast game of the season defeat against the Vikings at Headingley.
Former Yorkshire seamer, Matthew Waite returned Worcestershire’s best ever bowling figures in T20 cricket with his 5-21 in Thursday’s home win against Leicestershire Foxes.
He said: “It would be lovely to get a couple of wins out of these final games and it would be nice to get one over on Yorkshire on Sunday.”
Sunday’s game is sponsored by JPM Broking Services.
Worcestershire Rapids
2 Jake Libby
3 Josh Cobb
6 Matthew Waite
7 Ed Pollock
9 Gareth Roderick (w)
12 Tom Taylor
14 Olly Cox
15 Brett D’Oliveira (c)
27 Kashif Ali
41 Harry Darley
54 Adam Hose
77 Ethan Brookes
86 Hayden Walsh
88 Rob Jones
