Saif Zaib calls on Steelbacks to 'put on a show' for home supporters against Bears

Northants claimed a welcome first win of the season as they saw off Derbyshire Falcons by six wickets on Monday afternoon, while at the same time the Bears were making it three wins out of three by crushing Lancashire Lightning at Edgbaston.

Now the two sides meet in front of the Sky Sports cameras at the County Ground (start 6.30pm) and Zaib is keen for him and his team-mates to 'put on a show' for the home supporters.

The first two home matches of the campaign ended in disappointing defeats to Worcestershire Rapids and Durham Jets, the latter being a 10-wicket humbling on Friday night.

And although he knows it is going to be a tough task, Zaib is confident the team can right those wrongs against a strong looking Bears side at Wantage Road.

"There are some very, very good teams in this competition, especially in our group," said the left-hander, who guided the Steelbacks to victory at Derby with an unbeaten 37.

"I still feel that if we play our best cricket, like we did on Monday, then we can turn over any team.

"We have given the Bears a run for their money over the past few years as well, and hopefully we can do that on Wednesday and put on a show for our home fans."

The victory over the Falcons saw the Steelbacks chase down the home side’s modest 151 for six with two overs to spare after a 64-run second-wicket partnership between skipper David Willey and Chris Lynn laid the foundations.

The pair were attacking but kept some of their big shots in the locker, with Zaib revealing something of a change in outlook following that Durham battering.

"We spoke about taking ownership of our own wicket, and you could see that with two of our most experienced players," said Zaib.

"The way that they played is not their usual style, you know trying to whack it and hit sixes and fours, but they played the situation and got us off to a decent start.

"That gave myself, Lewis (McManus) and Cobby (Josh Cobb) as well the chance to come in and add a little bit of variety.

"But it was very mature of them (Lynn and Willey) to give us that start."

A start that was finished by an unbroken stand of 40 between Zaib and McManus (19no), and the former is hoping that can be the first of many notable contributions that pair will be making.

"I am not going to lie, I was very nervous being out there and I haven't felt that sort of T20 buzz in quite a while, when you face that never-wracking sort of chase," said Zaib.

"But it was nice to get over the line and have that sigh of relief at the end of the game.

"Lewi is awesome to talk to in those types of situations and hopefully me and him can win a few more games this year. Hopefully we can build on it."

Northants have named an unchanged squad for the clash against the Bears, who are also unchanged from their win over Lightning on Sunday.

Today is a double header at the County Ground, with the Steelbacks versus Bears clas preceeded by the Charlotte Edwards Cup clash between Sunrisers and Western Storm.The women’s clash starts at 2.30pm, with the Blast action underway at 6.30pm. One ticket gets you entry into both matches.

Blast squads

Steelbacks: Willey, Cobb, Gay, Heldreich, Koegh, Lynn, McManus, Russell, Sanderson, Sales, Tye, Taylor, Vasconcelos, G White, Zaib

Bears: Davies , Barnard, Benjamin, Bethell, Briggs, Brookes, Hain, Hannon-Dalby, Lintott, Maxwell, Miles, Mousley, Yates