White confident on-song Steelbacks will still feel at home at Edgbaston

Graeme White admits it is going to be very strange playing a 'home' game at Edgbaston when the Steelbacks take on Glamorgan in the second city on Thursday night (start 6.35pm).
Steelbacks spinner Graeme WhiteSteelbacks spinner Graeme White
Steelbacks spinner Graeme White

But the left-arm spinner says he and his team-mates Steelbacks are confident of winning on any ground as they look to continue their storming start to the Vitality T20 Blast campaign.

The match is being played in Birmingham as part of a Sky Sports live double header, with the Steelbacks game on after the match between Worcestershire and Somerset (1.05pm).

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Sky are committed to showing every team live at least once in the shortened Blast group stages, and to do that they are staging three of these double headers at Test grounds.

Steelbacks will play Glamorgan at an empty EdgbastonSteelbacks will play Glamorgan at an empty Edgbaston
Steelbacks will play Glamorgan at an empty Edgbaston

It means the Steelbacks have had to give up one of their five County Ground fixtures, and although White says that is not ideal, Edgbaston has been a pretty happy hunting ground for the team in recent years.

And there is also the fact that home advantage is diluted by the fact all the matches are being played behind closed doors.

"We love playing here at the County Ground, I love playing here and I have been lucky enough to play here a lot of my career," said White.

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"I absolutely love it when there is packed crowds, a good atmosphere and close games, it is a real buzz and we are missing that at the minute.

"It is a shame that we can't have people here watching, as that is one of the reasons I love playing T20 and 50-over cricket, because of the crowds.

"So it is going to be a strange one on Thursday that we are going to have a home game and we are Edgbaston.

"But wherever we go, wherever we play, whoever we play, if we keep doing our thing and making sure we are playing the best we can then I am sure we will be fine."

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The Steelbacks are in great form at the moment, having won three T20 group games on the bounce after their opener was abandoned last Thursday.

They travel to Edgbaston in good shape, and it is a ground they have enjoyed success on in the past.

They have won two T20 Finals Days there, and have also beaten Warwickshire on their own patch on a pretty regular basis, and White says the players can draw on those positive experiences.

"We have done well at Edbaston in the past, and it has been a good ground for us with Finals Days, and even in white ball cricket against Warwickshire recently we have been very good," he said.

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"So that brings a lot of confidence going there, and although you could call it an away home game, we have played some very good cricket at Edgbaston and we can't forget that.

"We need to remember what we have done well, but it is a slightly different ground to the County Ground, and you have to adapt.

"If you look at the group of players we have, we have got an abundance of experience and I think that is going to be crucial going there.

"It is going to be something different, but we have played a lot of cricket there and no matter where we play we are confident we are going to go out and win."