Mitchell Santner believes Worcestershire Rapids are “not far off” firing on all cylinders after suffering a second successive last-over defeat in the Vitality Blast.
The Rapids won four opening games before being edged out by Northamptonshire Steelbacks at New Road on Sunday and then against Lancashire Lightning at Blackpool on Wednesday evening.
Santner hit his maiden half-century for the Rapids against the Lightning, and then Dillon Pennington excelled with the ball during a spell of 2-17 from four overs, including three of them in the powerplay.
Santner said: “It was another tight loss for us. I thought we bowled exceptionally well in the powerplay and the few overs after that.
“But they needed 120 off the last ten overs, which can happen against some good players. It’s tough to stop Jos (Buttler) when he’s going.
“There were a couple of things. The last couple of overs of our innings with the bat, we wanted 190, which might have been enough out there. Then, trying to close overs out at the end.
“We’re doing some good stuff and falling a little bit at times. We are losing close games. We are not far away.”
Santner added: “With the new ball, it looked challenging when you hit the wicket. Luke Wood bowled very well in the powerplay, and it flattened out a bit as we went along.
“We lost wickets in the last couple of overs which halted our progress, whereas they got 13-14 runs off each of the last five overs, which is good batting.”
