Ruthless Bears make or break for Grayson's Essex

Since becoming the Birmingham Bears at the start of last year, there has been something brutally, ruthlessly efficient in T20 cricket about the team once known simply as Warwickshire.

The defending champions are a team full of batsmen like Varun Chopra, Will Porterfield and Laurie Evans who are big hitters, but not the biggest hitters. They have seam bowlers, such as Oliver Hannon-Dalby and Chris Woakes, who bowl - and nail - yorkers at the death and, in Jeetan Patel and youngsters Ateeq Javid and Josh Poysden, spinners capable of bowling dry in the middle overs. They are a team full of allrounders, and seldom drop chances or misfield. In short, they are greater than the sum of their parts, so efficient you could even call them dull. The architect of all this is director of cricket Dougie Brown.

"Our primary strength in the format is that we have a strong, deep squad," he says. "We've got a number of guys who can play different roles in different forms of the game, and guys who can come in in the middle of a busy schedule and take up a role in the shorter forms.

"Sometimes you get to a part of the season when people are running on empty and are playing because there's nobody else to play, but we always have a fresh face who is capable of coming in. The guys who maybe haven't gone on the back of six or seven days of cricket, and you can bring them in specifically for one game then rest someone else. The guys coming in know their role well and are highly skilled too."

Brown has the depth to rotate his squad but also the adaptability and specialisation in it to make that policy worthwhile, too. Hannon-Dalby, for instance, has played just three Championship matches this season, but is known across the land for his excellent length at the death. Another T20 specialist, Recordo Gordon, has not played in the Championship, while red-ball gun Keith Barker played just two of 14 Blast group games. Brown is also quick to point to the control offered by his spinners as an area of strength, too.

"Josh [Poysden] has been brilliant," he says. "Not every team has a legspinner so he's a great asset - he's got good variation and control and has done well, even in conditions that don't necessarily suit him. Ateeq Javid just finds a way to get himself into the game, be that a big wicket, a partnership breaker, a tight over or a few runs. Alongside Jeetan, who is a great guide for the younger guys, it's great to have those three options. Him nurturing those young guys is just as much his role these days as performing on the field - there's a very good career waiting as a coach waiting for when he finishes."

Speaking of Kiwis passing on advice, the Bears benefitted from the presence of one Brendon McCullum for seven games earlier in the campaign and Brown is convinced that - as unforgettable as that 158 against Derbyshire was - that young players spending time simply soaking up the New Zealand captain's knowledge and attitude up will be the greatest legacy of his stint at the club.

"We knew it was an important time for him to come in, when guys were in the middle of a busy run and quite tired and in need of a bit of re-enthusing, if you like. There's probably nobody better in cricket to do that at the moment.

"That innings motivated the squad, no doubt, but ultimately weight of runs was irrelevant. It was about him teaching the guys what international T20 is all about. He made everyone aware that cricket is a game and you can fail, and that's okay. Brendon's philosophy really is just to go compete and have fun, and if you're good enough on the day, you'll win. If you don't, there's no point in being irate and angry. He was a great levelling influence. We're pretty lucky that even with him gone we're able to call on Ian Bell for the quarter-final."

Brown's boys have two other things going for the rest of the campaign: home advantage, and the knowledge that they have done it before. They are club that gets things right on and off the field - T20 attendance is up by 25% this season, with 49,573 people already having been to Edgbaston this season and kids going free - meaning they can rely on strong support both against Essex and on Finals Day, should they make it.

"Home crowds are great when confidence is up, and right now it definitely is," says Brown. "The quarter-final is a huge event. We're going to take the pressure off and remember that this is just a game of cricket. We've had a lot of fun playing T20 cricket this year and don't plan to stop now. Winning last year has given us true belief in our method and we've been on a roll in the groups. We've got guys winning matches in every department and the taste of victory last year is keeping us going now."