"It's time for another Finals Day" - Kadeer Ali expresses his desire to challenge for the Blast title

The Pears’ mission is very much to retain the Metro-Bank One-Day Cup which they won in such spectacular fashion last season. In the Vitality Blast meanwhile, says Kadeer: “It’s time for another Finals Day.”

“In T20 cricket in the last two years we are starting to show the brand of cricket we want to play,” he said. “We now have six or seven batters that can win you a game - very impactful players – and Usama Mir is a very valuable addition to our side. I think we are on a nice journey when it comes to T20 cricket. After a slow start last year, we only missed out on qualification by one game. Guys like Ethan Brookes and Kashif Ali have really come on and with Hosey in there we have a really good balance.

“We are very excited about the T20 campaign and also the 50-over comp. To win it last year having lost in the semi-final the year before was a great achievement and we look back on it with a lot of pride. The guys were fantastic and the day at Trent Bridge gave us moments we will never forget. To win a trophy for the club was absolutely amazing, and especially to win it in such a brilliant game, so we will be looking to take up the momentum from there.”