Worcestershire Rapids keeper batter Gareth Roderick marked his return from illness with a superb century against his former club Gloucestershire to help secure a 85-run success in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup at New Road.
Roderick had missed the opening three games in the tournament but continued the excellent form he has been demonstrating in the LV=Insurance County Championship with his List A best score of 137.
He showed his battling qualities in fighting through a testing time with the new ball in seaming conditions after the Rapids had been put into bat.
Roderick then accelerated to such an extent that he faced only 114 balls and hit four sixes and 12 fours.
Rapids captain Jake Libby, also enjoying a prolific season, gave him excellent support during a partnership of 193 in 23.2 overs, a new Worcestershire record for the third wicket against their local rivals.
With Kashif Ali and new signing Logan van Beek providing late impetus, Worcestershire’s total of 375-7 was their second highest in 50 over cricket.
Gloucestershire lost wickets at regular intervals against the seamers, including four for van Beek to cap a successful debut and two for fit again Pat Brown.
Jack Taylor provided some late entertainment for the Gloucestershire supporters in the 4,000 plus crowd with his maiden List A hundred off 94 balls before Gloucestershire were dismissed for 290 in 48.3 overs.
But it only served to bring some respectability to the outcome as impressive Worcestershire sealed a third win in four matches.
It keeps them well in contention to reach the knockout stages at the half-way stage of the group.
Worcestershire made five changes from the side beaten by Somerset at Taunton on Sunday with Brett D’Oliveira, Azhar Ali and Cameron Jones injured and Joe Leach and Dillon Pennington rested.
Netherland international van Beek was handed his debut and there were recalls for Matthew Waite, Ed Pollock, Roderick and Brown.
Pollock and Roderick were given a searching examination by Zaman Akhter and Tom Price who had taken a hat-trick and scored a century on the same day in the corresponding LV=Insurance County Championship match between the sides.
Pollock (2) edged Tom Price to first slip and the initial 10-over powerplay yielded 24 runs in a gripping battle between bat and ball.
Roderick and new batter Rob Jones fought through this challenging period and gradually upped the tempo.
Jones, initially on loan from Lancashire before starting a three-year contract next summer, gloved Anwar Ali through to keeper James Bracey after making 20.
Bat dominated the ball for the remainder of the innings with Roderick in prime form and given superb support by Libby in surpassing the 159 by Tom Fell and Alexei Kervezee for the third wicket at New Road nine years ago.
A single off van Meekeren enabled Roderick to move to three figures and was the cue for a standing ovation from the 4,000-plus New Road basking in the warm sunshine and enjoying great entertainment.
A straight six by Roderick of Anwar Ali established the new third wicket partnership record against the visitors before Libby (86) was pouched low down at gulley off Zaman Akhtar.
Roderick produced the shot of the innings with a reverse scoop for six off Tom Smith before in the same over he sliced the spinner into the hands of short third man.
Smith also held onto a return catch from Ben Cox (2) but the innings momentum was sustained by Kashif Ali and van Beek.
Kashif raced to 39 from 22 balls before he pulled Graeme van Buuren to backward square leg but van Beek struck Tom Price for two sixes over long off in making an unbeaten 41 from 19 balls.
When Gloucestershire batted, Matthew Waite bowled an excellent opening spell, beating the bat on several occasions and deserving better figures than 6-1-12-0.
It was van Beek who made the first breakthrough when Bracey holed out to Kashif Ali at wide mid on.
Ollie Price, a century-maker in the recent Championship match at Cheltenham, fell to Ben Gibbon with Rob Jones taking a sharp catch at backward point.
Brown came into the attack and three wickets went down inside his first three overs as Gloucestershire subsided to 80-5.
Harry Tector was run out after being sent back after he turned Brown to cover and failed to beat Kashif Ali’s throw to Ben Cox.
Van Buuren went lbw and Chris Dent offered a simple caught and bowled.
Sub fielder Rehaan Edavalath got into the thick of the action with an excellent diving catch at mid wicket to dismiss Tom Price off van Beek.
Libby brought himself into the attack and he was celebrating in his second over as Anwar Ali (6) was taken at deep cover by Brown.
Tom Smith (7) was neatly caught down the leg side off Baker but then Taylor hit out until he and Van Meereken were dismissed in successive balls from van Beek (4-58).
