Birmingham Bears v Essex
Vitality Blast
Edgbaston, Birmingham
Thursday 06 July, 6:35pm
Essex travel to Edgbaston on Thursday night to face Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast Quarter-Finals, with a place at Finals Day on the line.
Simon Harmer’s men sealed their spot in the last eight on Sunday by defeating Surrey in the most dramatic of circumstances, as Feroze Khushi struck a final-ball six to earn a three-wicket win.
That saw the Eagles sneak ahead of Kent into the fourth and final spot in the knockout stages, confirming their trip to North Group table-toppers Birmingham.
Squad
The Opposition
Birmingham Bears squad: TBC
Captain: Alex Davies
Overseas players: Glenn Maxwell (Australia), Dominic Drakes (West Indies)
Finals Day appearances: 4 (2003, 2014, 2015, 2017)
Titles: 1 (2014)
2022 finish: Quarter-finals
2023 leading run-scorer: Rob Yates (447)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Dan Mousley (20)
Last Time Out
Essex have met Birmingham Bears twice before at this stage, in the 2014 and 2015 editions of the Blast, though the Eagles will be out for revenge on Thursday night after falling short on both occasions.
The duo’s first meeting was the year in which the Bears won their first shortest-format title, as Essex found themselves narrowly unable to chase down Birmingham’s 197/2 despite Ryan ten Doeschate’s 37-ball 61.
A year later, the Eagles again found themselves up against the West Midlands outfit, this time travelling to the Second City to face them in their own back yard.
There, they also came up short as the hosts set 189/5 despite two wickets for Reece Topley, and although Tom Westley and Ravi Bopara passed 30, Essex were unable to overhaul the target.
However, the last time the Eagles played at Edgbaston in a T20 was in fact not against Birmingham at all; as the regular home of T20 Finals Day, the stadium saw Essex triumph in the 2019 final against Worcestershire.
Overall, the Eagles have emerged victorious in two of the four T20 matches they have played at Edgbaston, with a firm goal of making that three from five after Thursday night.
Knockout Stage Bracket
Tickets
For Eagles fans wishing to travel up and get behind Simon Harmer’s side can purchase tickets from the Edgbaston website now, priced at £10 for adults and £5 for juniors aged 5-15 years old if bought in advance, while under-5s are free.
Adult tickets bought from midnight on the day of the game will increase in price to £15. Buy tickets at the link below, where you will need to select a stand, and then seating is unreserved within that chosen stand.
How to watch
Watch the action live from Edgbaston on Thursday night on Sky Sports Cricket from 6:30pm.
Clips, statistics and an interactive scorecard will still be available via the Essex Cricket Matchzone, with full match coverage on the Club’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.
