Chris Woakes reckons other counties will be gunning for the scalp of holders Birmingham Bears in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast.
The Bears claimed their maiden domestic sprint-format title on home soil last year by seeing off Surrey in the semi-final before brushing aside Lancashire Lightning in the showpiece.
Woakes played an integral role in the Bears’ triumph, taking two wickets in each match on Finals Day and denying former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff from firing the Red Rose to a dramatic victory at the death.
With 14 runs required off the final six balls, the right-arm seamer used his variations to lead the Bears to a four-run triumph at a sold-out Edgbaston, where Finals Day will again be held in 2015.
Birmingham start the defence of their trophy with a trip to Trent Bridge to face Notts Outlaws on May 15 and Woakes believes the Bears need to be up for the challenge.
Flintoff and Woakes reliving the 2014 Blast final pic.twitter.com/0Wc4Fg6DfG
— Callum Dent ⚽️ (@cdent31) April 16, 2015
The England international said: “It does bring added pressure. Winning it was fantastic last year, but it means that everyone will be looking at us as the ones to beat, particularly in the North Group.
“The lads are looking forward to the challenge. We peaked at the right time last year, we won our last six including the quarter-finals, semis and the final.
“You do have to peak at the right time, we did that perfectly last year. But the lads are looking forward to the challenge of being looked at more rather than underdogs.”
The Bears’ hopes of retaining their title have been significantly boosted by the capture of New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum.
The destructive batsman, the leading run-scorer in the history of Twenty20 internationals, will be available from the Bears’ rematch with Lancashire on June 26.
Woakes, who ended McCullum's fastest World Cup half-century at the Wellington Regional Stadium in February, said: “It is a fantastic signing, credit to everyone at the club for making it happen.
NatWest T20 Blast launch day. https://t.co/cZnq62Uacs
— Callum Dent ⚽️ (@cdent31) April 16, 2015
“It is exciting, not only for us as players to be in the same dressing room with him, it will be nice for me to have him on our team for a change rather than bowling at him. I am looking forward to that.
“But for the fans to see a world-class player in action will attract more fans for us and more crowds. It is exciting for the club. It is great to see the competition have big star names like that.”
Woakes is continuing his rehabilitation from a third metatarsal stress reaction sustained on England duty at the World Cup, ruling him out of the current Test tour of the West Indies.
“It is going well. It has been quite slow progress to be honest. It is coming along quite well,” the 26-year-old said.
“It was nice to have that break and being ruled out of the West Indies tour has given me that little bit extra time to get it right. It feels good. I have been full-weight bearing for about three weeks now.
“I started running this week. It is hard to actually put a time frame on when I make my comeback because it depends how it reacts to bowling in the next week or two.”
Birmingham Bear Chris Woakes in good spirits pic.twitter.com/RSxA6i6NxB
— Callum Dent ⚽️ (@cdent31) April 16, 2015