[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

After renewing first-class hostilities with Warwickshire for the first time in five years last August, Worcestershire are still waiting for the win that's been two decades in coming. It's been even longer since the Pears beat the Bears at Edgbaston - a ten-wicket victory around the August bank holiday weekend in 1993, when the likes of Hick and Moody were in their pomp - but Birmingham is the setting for this week's encounter, and it will take something special to change the county's fortunes. It's been a contrasting start to the season for the two rivals, with Worcs meandering from one high-scoring draw to the next while Warks have alternated between victory and defeat after modest batting displays. But just two points now separate the sides, and something somewhere has got to give.

After undergoing shoulder surgery in the off-season and regaining fitness in the seconds, Josh Tongue will be available for his first start of the season. Jake Libby will also be crucial to Worcestershire's fortunes as one of the country's leading scorers (over 150 runs ahead of Warwickshire's nearest candidate, Sam Hain) while Gareth Roderick may have done just enough in Sunday's game-saving rearguard to hold on to his number 4 place. For the hosts, Pieter Malan is now available for selection and Olly Stone will return after being rested last week, to augment an already-formidable seam attack. However, the weather may prove the most decisive factor, with rain currently forecast for the entirety of Saturday and possibly a chunk of Sunday too.