'I'm confident the lads will blossom after hard work'

ANDY Carr's two seasons as Staffordshire’s head coach have been littered with success.

- Chris Travers

Since taking the reins ahead of the 2023 campaign, Carr and his players have won the Twenty20 Cup for the first time and, last summer, clinched the Division One East title and shared the overall Championship crown with Berkshire.

But while Carr might be subject to envious glances from other coaches, he's casting his own in one particular format.

Staffordshire have failed to progress from their Knockout Trophy group in the two summers in which Carr and skipper James Kettleborough have been guiding the county ship.

So while all three formats are important to Carr, the Staffordshire head coach has an extra incentive to try to crack matters in the 50-over competition.

That's at the forefront of his mind as Staffs commence their Knockout Trophy season with a double header over the Bank Holiday weekend.

They entertain Herefordshire at West Bromwich Dartmouth on Sunday, before welcoming Suffolk to Bignall End on Monday (both 11am).

"It would be nice to get the 50-over trophy in the cabinet," admitted Carr. "We've got something to prove in this format, I feel.

"The players would deserve it and so do the spectators who follow us around. Hopefully it's an area where we can have a different outcome this season.