NEW Road is bracing itself for another explosive bombardment of sixes and fours tomorrow when Worcestershire Royals complete their group campaign in the Twenty20 Cup with a clash against Somerset Sabres (5.30pm).

And if previous matches are anything to go by then players, officials and spectators alike are set for another frantic evening in a revolutionary competition which has proved a huge hit.

The County's first Twenty20 Cup match at New Road attracted an excited crowd of more than 4,000 for a nail-biting one wicket win over Northamptonshire Steelbacks.

Then last Wednesday evening's 20-run defeat against rivals Warwickshire Bears produced another bumper 4,566 attendance to prove what Mark Newton had believed for a long time - that the new format would be a major income-generating crowd-puller.

The County's chief executive first mooted the idea some ten years ago and after seeing how successful the competition has been so far he's convinced it 'heralds a change in the perception and the way cricket is played and structured in future years'.

The Worcestershire players, who are in Twenty20 Cup action again this evening with a match against Glamorgan Dragons at Cardiff, have also given the crash, bang, wallop action a big thumbs up.

New Road skipper Ben Smith's reaction after the Northants win was to describe it as a 'fantastic night'.

He said: "It's going to be a prestigious competition in the next couple of years. It's just a matter of everybody getting used to it, teams getting into some sort of rhythm and also spectators getting used to the differences."

Vice captain Steve Rhodes said: "It's created terrific entertainment. It's quite frantic with the running around that you have got to do, but it's great fun. You are seeing tremendous running between the wickets, fielding and lots of six hitting and fours.

"There are people running everywhere, people wearing helmets at leg slip and swapping hats and all sorts of chaos. But it's great entertainment and that's really the bottom line. We are in the industry of entertaining the public. What's good to see is that a different type of audience comes along and it's great to see youngsters and families.

"I'm very positive and upbeat about it. It's great for the image of cricket. Possibly in the longer form people find it a little bit boring, but they can's possibly call this boring! On the positive side the guys enjoy it, we are giving entertainment and people are going home happy, so who can complain?"

All-rounder Andrew Hall, who played in the County's opening two matches but is now on one-day duty with South Africa, said: "I must admit from a playing point of view it's really a lot of fun. We've had a couple of youngsters coming in and doing well and I think that's a great starting step for them in county cricket."

Due to a lengthy injury list, plus Hall's departure and the loss of Vikram Solanki and Kabir Ali to England's one-day squad, the County have had a chance to give youngster Stephen Moore a taste of first team action.

He said: "It's been brilliant. It's been a great experience to be with the boys and for a bit of fun out there."

Although normally an opening batsmen he has gone in lower down the order and responded to the challenge.

"No matter where you come in whether it's the top for lower down you are still looking to get a run a ball and boundaries when they are there," he said.

New Road director of cricket Tom Moody said the injury situation and one-day calls has given younger players the opportunity to 'come into this form of the game and really just touch the water with their toes and get a feel of what the intensity is like.'