T20 BLAST PREVIEW: 'No second chances' as skipper Cobb tells Steelbacks to 'stay calm and be brave'

The County travel to Bristol to take on Gloucestershire in the quarter-finals on Thursday (start 2pm), knowing a win will secure them a place at Edgaston Finals Day this Saturday (Oct 3).

Cobb and his team left it late to secure their place in the last eight, producing a remarkable comeback to beat Birmingham Bears in their final game.

The Steelbacks looked dead and buried at 71 for six chasing 192 to win, but 50 not out from new signing Tommy Taylor and 37 not out from just 12 balls by Graeme White saw them home by three wickets.

That win sealed the runners-up spot in the group stages, and they now face Central section winners Gloucestershire in the last eight.

The first match between the two sides in the group was rained off, but Gloucester were then comfortable 35-run winners at the County Ground, and they will start the quarter-final as favourites.

But Cobb knows his team is more than capable of beating any team in the T20 format, and he feels the momentum gained from that dramatic afternoon at Edgbaston could work in their favour.

“Sometimes as a unit you need something like that win in Birmingham to just kick-start the belief and get things rolling again," Cobb told nccc.co.uk

"We had some distractions that didn’t come at a great time for us and we had a tough few games after that.

"But winning the way we did gives us that belief and excitement in the camp that we’ll carry into the quarter-final for sure.

“We have plenty of match winners in our squad and hopefully a couple have a day out.

"I’ve told the lads there’s so many ups and downs in T20, you just have to stay level-headed and keep believing.

"Stay calm and be brave, there’s no second chances.”

The Steelbacks have named an unchanged squad for the match at Bristol, and are expected to name the same team that saw off the Bears in their final group game.

Steelbacks squad: Cobb, Buck, Glover, Keogh, Levi, Procter, Rossington, Sanderson, Sole, Stirling, Taylor, Vasconcelos, Wakely, White Zaib