Bopara wants to maintain Blast momentum as Steelbacks target North Group top spot

Darren Lehmann's side have started their 2025 in superb style, claiming three wins out of three with Leicestershire Foxes beaten at the County Ground, and Yorkshire Vikings and Derbyshire Falcons swept aside on their travels.

The Steelbacks now face two more away days in the space of three days, starting with a Friday trip to New Road to take on Worcestershire Rapids (start 5.30pm), before going to Old Trafford to do battle with Lancashire Lightning on Sunday afternoon.

Bopara, who has played match-winning innings in the past two games, is delighted with the start the team has made, but knows there is still a long way the go in the North Group campaign.

The Steelbacks are the only team to boast a 100 per cent record and sit second to Lightning on net run-rate, but they have played a game less than the Red Rose and will go top with a win over the Rapids on Friday as Lancashire are without a game.

"It is still early doors, and there are still 11 group games to go," said Bopara.

"We want to keep the momentum we have got with winning, and it does give us a nice little cushion at the front, and I know there is a break coming up as well, which can sometimes work for you or against you.

"We just have to make sure we stay on the ball, we keep winning and give ourselves a cushion towards the end of the group stage."

It has been a harsh fixture list for the Steelbacks, who by Sunday night will have played four of their first five group games away from the County Ground, and Bopara is wary of another couple of difficult tests this weekend.

"They are two tough games against two good teams," he admitted.

"We have a lot of respect for both sides, but we are playing some good cricket and we will be tough to beat."

Perhaps ominously for the rest of the North Group, Bopara also believes there is still a lot more to come from the Steelbacks.

"Against Derbyshire we made a couple of mistakes in the field, and we have done that in the past couple of games," said the former England all-rounder.

"If we can get those right we will be better. We should have won comfortably on Wednesday, but we did make a couple of mistakes to let them back in the game.

"It is fun though, playing under that sort of pressure where you know any team can snatch the game from there, but it was nice to get the four points on the board."

The Steelbacks are set to name the same 14-man squad to take on a Rapids side who could include former Northants all-rounder Tom Taylor in their line-up.

Taylor missed the Rapids' opening two games, but has been added to the 15-man squad for the visit of his former team-mates.

Worcestershire started their campaign with a narrow seven-run loss at Lancashire, but bounced back on Sunday as they hammered Yorkshire Vikings by 60 runs, with Brett D’Oliveira and Adam Hose both hitting quickfire half-centuries.

The Rapids' overseas signings are both pace bowlers in New Zealander Jacob Duffy and Australian left-armer Ben Dwarshuis, and they both claimed two wickets apiece in the win over Vikings.

Worcestershire Rapids squad v Northants: Fateh Singh, Jake Libby, Ed Pollock, Gareth Roderick, Tom Taylor, Henry Cullen, Brett D'Oliveira, Kashif Ali, Jacob Duffy, Tom Hinley, Adam Hose, Adam Finch, Ben Allison, Ethan Brookes, Ben Dwarshuis.