Regarding the bowling, Jake Lintott can't come back soon enough. Jacob Bethell may well be, as others have said, a great prospect. But he looked against Durham to be slightly out of his depth and that could hinder his development rather than help him.
At the risk of repeating myself, the other option should be, if possible, to recall Alex Thomson from his loan at Derbyshire. In his last three T20 spells for them, he has bowled seven overs for 46 runs - an economy rate better than any of the Bears have achieved so far.

That performance wasn't even worth getting out of bed to watch, let alone travelling all the way from Bristol.
I think we may have unrealistic expectations of Brathwaite with the bat. His career T20 average of 14 is the same as his average in the Blast so far this year.

With junk food ads soon to be banned on TV before 9.00 pm, the companies affected must be so glad that players in The Hundred will be parading around advertising their unhealthy products.

Maybe the ECB are secretly congratulating themselves that it really is possible to attract people to cricket who don't like cricket, which is the whole basis of The Hundred, otherwise known as Cricket,** Re-hashed And **Pimped.
What a shame that there isn't a handy acronym that they could use.

Interview with Ian Westwood about the second team's path to the Finals here:
https://edgbaston.com/news/westwood-on-second-xi-t20-finals-day/

I seem to remember that on the old Bearsfans board, someone labelled Curran as a "short-arsed trundler," something that comes into my mind every time I see him bowl.

This is good news for the Club:
https://edgbaston.com/news/edgbaston-awarded-second-pilot-following-test-match-hosting/

The official preview says: " No members of the Bears squad have been in contact with Lintott since the development of the symptoms, with a regular testing process covering all players."
https://edgbaston.com/fixtures/first-xi/durham-v-birmingham-bears-20-june-2021/#match-match-previews

Weather looks OK.
It could be a tough game without Woakes, Stone and Lintott. A pity that Alex Thomson is on loan to Derbyshire because he could fit in as a replacement for Lintott - second spinner who can also bat.

Jake has tested positive for COVID - bad news for him and a big loss for the Bears because he has consistently taken wickets. Let's hope he makes a speedy recovery.

I feel really sorry for him. He is a decent guy and a good cricketer so it's sad to see him have so many setbacks in his career.

Yes I agree that the weather predictions differ widely between different forecasters. Where is Michael Fish when you need him?
Anyway, sadly, I've made the decision not to travel - it's a long and tedious journey up the M5 on a Friday afternoon with the likelihood of traffic jams and the possibility of no cricket at the end of it.

Met Office forecast not looking too good for tomorrow evening.

Report on the game with quotes from Will Rhodes:
https://deepextracover.com/2021/06/bears-make-it-four-in-a-row-with-comprehensive-victory-at-grace-ro

Preview of tonight's game - no Chris Woakes.
https://edgbaston.com/fixtures/first-xi/leicestershire-v-birmingham-bears-16-june-2021/
It's available on Sky for those who have access.

A possible signing:
ps://www.espncricinfo.com/story/warwickshire-close-to-signing-che-simmons-17-year-old-dubbed-new-jofra-archer-1266631?ex_cid=OTC-RSS

Graham Thorpe says that he thinks The Hundred will help England's Test match batsmen??!!
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/14/graham-thorpe-the-hundred-can-help-england-struggling-test-batsmen
Either he is delusional or he thinks we are all stupid - or maybe he's just remembering who pays his wages.

Looks like the 25% will continue to apply:
https://www.thecricketer.com/Topics/countycricket/english_cricket-four_week_delay_lockdown_covid_19_england_blast_hundred.html

Malan so far has been a big let down. His career credentials are impeccable - a first class average of 44, list A average of 45 and T20 average of just over 40. For Western Province, he has a first-class average of almost 60.
None of which explains why he has to date failed spectacularly for the Bears.
My hope (and guess) is that it is only a matter of time before his quality shines through and he makes a few big scores.

Chris Woakes showing how much the Bears have missed both his batting and his bowling.