Opener Vasconcelos remains a doubt for Steelbacks' Vitality Blast quarter-final

The left hander has not yet been ruled out of contention due to the fractured hand he suffered in the abandoned four-day clash at Gloucestershire last Thursday, but time is certainly not on his side.

Head coach John Sadler will leave it as late as possible before making a decision though, as he knows he is already without key batters Ravi Bopara and overseas star Matt Breetzke.

Bopara has been ruled out with an injured finger suffered in the Max60 competition in the Caribbean, while Breetzke, the Steelbacks' top runscorer in the North Group stages, is unavailable as he is captaining South Africa A in their ODI series against Sri Lanka.

The Steelbacks are also without pace pair Raphy Weatherall and George Scrimshaw due to them both suffering stress fractures in their back, while Sikandar Raza is also unavailable, but on the plus side, Australian all-rounder Ashton Agar has landed in the UK.

Asked to sum up the latest on injuries and availability, Sadler said on Tuesday: "Unfortunately, Matt Breetzke and Sikandar are both abroad and aren't going to be with us, but Ashton is here.

"He has landed and is looking rather fresh after a long flight from Australia, and is training with us today.

"We are monitoring Vasco, but everything else is as it was."

The Steelbacks were very keen to get Breetzke back in the frame for the quarter-final, but his selection as skipper of South Africa A put an end to that hope.

Sadler is disappointed not to be able to call on the services of the 25-year-old, who hit 460 runs to sit fourth in the list of the top scorers in the 2024 competition, but insists his unavailability, and the fact that Vasconcelos may also be missing as well as Bopara, will offer up opportunities to others.

"Every team relies on big players to have some success and Matt played his part over the course of 14 group games," said Sadler.

"He was a big player for us and we will miss him, but what it does do is it creates an opportunity for other lads.

"We have a squad, we have some squad depth, and there are a couple of players who are frustrated at having not played as much as they would have liked to in the group stages.

"We move on, we crack on with it and we play accordingly, but it wil give somebody else the opportunity to go and showcase their skills and show the world how good they are."

Asked which players will be asked to step up, Sadler was keeping his cards close to his chest.

"I am not going to single anybody out, as we have half a dozen lads who are ready to go and bat and play," he said.

"They are all putting their hand up so we will asses that nearer the time."