Daryl Mitchell plays down personal milestones as Worcestershire veteran eyes further Blast success

The Worcestershire Rapids allrounder is in line to make his 150th T20 appearance when the holders begin their defence of the trophy

Daryl Mitchell’s Twenty20 career has gone full circle as he prepares to achieve another personal milestone when the Vitality Blast gets underway next week.

The Worcestershire Rapids veteran is in line to make his 150th T20 appearance when the holders begin their defence of the trophy.

They take on Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge next Thursday evening followed by the sold out clash with Birmingham Bears at Blackfinch New Road the following day (July 19).

Mitchell made his T20 debut in 2005 as a lower-order batsman-bowler and was back in that role last summer when he played 15 of the Rapids 16 completed matches.

In between have been stints in the lower order and even opening the innings – the role he occupies in red-ball cricket in which he clocked up his 200th first-class appearance this week against Derbyshire at Kidderminster.

“You don’t set out to hit these milestones but it shows a decent longevity in the game and relative consistency I’ve had in the game so far and something I’m pretty proud of,” Mitchell said.

“It’s not been so much this year unfortunately so far but over a period of time I’m relatively pleased with my efforts and hope it can continue for a couple more years yet.

“I guess 200 first-class appearances, for Worcestershire, in three or four games would be a slightly bigger achievement in reaching that milestone for one club.

“With the T20 appearances, I guess timing is important really. I came into the side relatively early on after the competition had started. From 2005 on, I’ve been in the side pretty regularly.

“I remember my debut was at Taunton and I guess I’ve gone full circle in my T20 career.

“In those days I was that lower-order batter who bowled quite a bit. I’ve gone through phases of batting in the middle order and the top of the order.

“Last year I was back down to where I started really, batting eight or nine and being more of a bowler.

“I’d love to have the opportunity to bat back up the order at some point but it’s about putting in some performances and trying to force my way back up.”

^{Mitchell was part of the Worcestershire team that won their first Blast title in 2018}

The Rapids lifted the trophy for the first time after defeating Gloucestershire in the quarter-finals and then Lancashire and Sussex on finals day at Edgbaston.

Mitchell said: “The finals day and the quarter-final are games that will live long in the memory. Having been to half a dozen or so quarter-finals before and not winning and then to get over the line against Gloucestershire was a special feeling.

“It was nice to contribute with the ball in that game and obviously finals day is one that will be remembered by everyone. It was a fantastic day, a brilliant atmosphere and I think we were worthy winners on the day.”

In the immediate term Worcestershire have to try and get back on the winning trail in the Specsavers County Championship when they take on Durham at the Emirates Riverside on Saturday.

The 82-run defeat against Derbyshire means they have gone six matches without a win in the competition.

First-team coach Alex Gidman said: “I can assure you there are no shortcuts being taken in the way we do stuff. Everyone is working extremely hard. We are training at a very good intensity.

“I believe we’ve got a group of players who are more than capable of winning four-day games of cricket. We did that earlier in the season.

“There is a huge amount of cricket to be played. The beauty of the division this year is that it is very competitive so it is very tight and we’ve still played one game less than a lot of teams.

“We are genuinely one win away from being right back in the mix. It is generally a result wicket at Durham so we’ve got to approach that game with excitement and take the positive view of going there and winning and getting back in the mix.”

Courtesy of the ECB Reporters Network

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