BEARS head coach Ian Westwood says the Warwickshire squad are still ‘full of confidence’ despite some narrow Vitality Blast defeats.
Worcestershire Rapids come to Edgbaston on Friday for a Midlands derby clash with plenty riding on it.
Bears are fifth in a highly congested table at the halfway stage of the competition, with plenty of cricket still to be played.
Westwood told the Bears’ official website: “It’s been up and down. We got off to a bad start, but since then, we’ve put in some good performances.
“We’ve lost a couple of really tight games, which is always hard to take. However, it hasn’t affected the mood in the camp, the lads are still full of confidence and know a couple of wins will see us climb the table quickly.
“I’m really excited. The Derby is always a great game, the weather is fine, so it will be a good night with a top atmosphere.
“We know Worcestershire well, we know a lot of their players. They’ve got good bowling options, particularly in the seam department; they’re a well-drilled outfit, so we will have to perform well.
“We’re desperate to put in a good performance and get the result. We know we’re playing some good cricket, we just need to do better in some of those key moments.”
“The lads have trained really well these last few days, the mood in the camp is positive, confidence is high, and they’re all up for a good game.”
Bears’ most recent victory came at Headingley when they turned over Yorkshire by 32 runs to make it six in a row against the Vikings.
Tom Latham and Dan Mousley have been particularly impressive with the bat, alongside the all-round quality of Ed Barnard and overseas impact of Hassan Ali.
There is a chance the Bears could climb into the top four before the break for two rounds of County Championship fixtures, due to their superior net run-rate to those around them.
Rapids sit sixth in the table, and they have had a similar story in the Blast this year, losing four and winning three, with the Bears marginally ahead on net run-rate.
Worcestershire won on Wednesday in a close-run fixture against Durham at home, ending a two-game losing streak.
Ben Dwarshuis and Jacob Duffy are their leading wicket-takers in the competition (8), and ex-Bear Adam Hose is their leading run scorer (241).
