Rapids T20 Match Preview - 05/06/2022
Sat 4 Jun 2022
When we last met:
The two teams last met in the final T20 Blast match of last season, and it was a great win for the Running Foxes by seven wickets, denying the Rapids the opportunity to qualify for the quarter-finals as a result.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, Worcestershire would have been quietly confident of defending their 169-6 from 20 overs, with Ed Barnard's 43 not out (24b) being the highlight of their innings. Naveen-ul-Haq impressed among the Foxes bowling group, taking 2-32 from his four overs, while Arron Lilley (1-23 from four overs) was very economical as well.
Up stepped Josh Inglis. In one of the all-time great T20 innings played at Grace Road, the Australian smashed the ball to all parts, hitting 118 not out from 61 balls to get the Running Foxes over the winning line with 13 balls to spare.
Head to Head:
Naveen-ul-Haq vs DJ Bravo:
This season, Naveen has continued the success from his first season as a Fox, when he took a table-topping 26 wickets at a cost of just 17.57 apiece, and stunning death overs economy.
This season, the man from Afghanistan has already taken seven wickets in five games, and going for barely more than eight runs per over - a stunning achievement given he almost always bowls two Powerplay and two death overs in every match.
Our opposition also have an overseas pacer in their ranks, with the West Indian veteran DJ Bravo making is debut on Friday afternoon against the Birmingham Bears after recently playing in the IPL.
On his Rapids debut, Bravo went for 1-34 from his four overs, and having previously played in the T20 Blast earlier in his career, has taken 13 wickets in the competition at an average of 32.15 and economy rate of 8.50.
With both players likely to be the key bowlers in the death overs for their teams, the Naveen v Bravo battle will be critical in determining the outcome of this match.
Head Coach Paul Nixon names an unchanged 14-man travelling party.
Squad: Ackermann *, Ahmed, Davis, Griffiths, Hill +, Kimber, Lilley, Mike, Naveen, Parkinson, Patel, Rutherford, Steel, Walker.
