Five wins the magic number for County
Source -
mysporttoday.co.uk
The Northants Steelbacks boss Kepler Wessels believes five is the magic number that will open the door to the Twenty20 Cup quarter-finals.
The Northants Steelbacks boss Kepler Wessels believes five is the magic number that will open the door to the Twenty20 Cup quarter-finals.
The Steelbacks take on Worcestershire Royals at New Road today (5.30pm start) after making a perfect start in this season's competition – two wins from two games.
And with the two top teams from each of the three groups, plus the two best third-place finishers going through to the next round, Wessels believes three more victories from the remaining six fixtures will be enough.
The Steelbacks are on a high after setting a record total against Gloucestershire Gladiators and outplaying Warwickshire Bears in front of big home crowds last week.
But Wessels is refusing to get carried away by those victories. "Getting off to a good start was important and beating Warwickshire is always good, but this competition is a bit of a lottery and anything can happen on the day."
In beating two good sides the Steelbacks have looked pretty adept at this brand of cricket and Wessels said: "We have been preparing specifically for Twenty20 for quite a while. We have a plan that we work to.
"We know who we want at the crease and who we want bowling at specific times of the match, and we are trying to stick to the arrangement. This might also vary according to who is batting or bowling for the opposition."
Contrary to traditional one-day cricket wisdom, the County have chosen to bat first after winning the toss twice and Wessels says: "We are very confident of being able to defend a total, but you are never quite sure what's going to happen. A game can turn in the space of one or two overs. That's what makes the competition so interesting.
"It can also be a bit of a nightmare and it calls for cool heads on the pitch." Despite the competition's popularity and his team's success, Wessels is in no hurry to see it extended. "Five group matches last season was not quite enough but I think eight is fine for the time being," he said.
The Royals lost for the second time in three games when they played the Gladiators at Bristol yesterday.
In last year's corresponding fixture against Northants Graeme Hick blazed his way to 116 not out off 65 balls, which included six sixes and 11 fours, to help the Royals clinch a 21-run Duckworth-Lewis win.
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