BLAST OFF! John Sadler confident Steelbacks have 'all bases covered' for Blast campaign

The head coach is very happy with the shape of his squad ahead of the start of the tournament, with new recruits David Willey and pace bowler AJ Tye adding strength and experience to what was already at the club.

England all-rounder Willey will captain the side for the first time, and with 2022 batting sensation Chris Lynn also back in the fold, hopes are high that the Steelbacks can be a real force this summer.

The County have only reached the knockout stages once since they last won the tournament in 2016, and that was in the Covid-hit season of 2020.

And although Sadler isn't about to start making any rash or bold predictions about what his team is going to achieve in the North Group in 2023, he is confident the tools have been put in place for success.

"I am always a bit cautious about putting numbers and points on things, for me it is more about how we play our cricket," said the head coach.

"We know that if we play our cricket the right way, our attitude is right and we go about our business well then we will be there or thereabouts.

"It is a tough league to get out of, there are some very, very good teams

"We can beat anybody on our day as we have matchwinners, we have good leadership, we have experience and we have every base covered that we need to go and win games.

"But T20 is a fickle game. You cna play the perfect match and lose off the last ball, but you can also not play the perfect game and win quite easily.

"Look, the quarter-finals has to be target but I am sure if you asked every head coach around grounds, then all 18 head coaches and captains, and all the players, would say we want to get to the quarter-finals.

"Because once you get through to that stage then anybody can beat anybody and it's all about what happens on the day.

"But one thing Willo has spoken about is continuous improvement, and it is more important that we are playing our best cricket towards the back end of this tournament, when it gets to the crunch.

"We do have to start well, but we always want to keep improving."

Th Steelbacks will be looking to get off to the perfect start on Wednesday when they host a Rapids side that finished bottom of the North Group last year, winning just two matches.

But Sadler is not reading anything into what was a surprisingly poor campaign for them, and is wary of the weapons they have in their armoury.

"Every team has matchwinners," he said. "Worcester have lost Moeen Ali (to Birmingham Bears), but they now have Adam Hose who won the game here for Warwickshire last year.

"So he will be a big player for them.

"Worcester are normally a good unit, they won the tournament just a few years back as well (in 2018), but we are not worried about them.

"We are going to focus on us, focus on what we do, and we know if we hit our straps then we are going to a tough team to beat."