worcestershire first team coach alex gidman praised an “awesome” performance by the rapids in the nine wicket vitality blast win over birmingham bears at edgbaston.
a record breaking unbroken partnership of 138 between moeen ali (85 not out) and riki wessels (65 not out) saw the rapids home with eight balls to spare in pursuit of a 185 target.
victory means the rapids are only two points behind north group leaders lancashire lightning who visit New Road on sunday (2.30pm start).
gidman said: “i thought the boys were awesome. that partnership was world class (between moeen ali and riki wessels).
“i thought we did a good job in the first half of the game. it looked a good batting wicket throughout and we just showed some real quality and composure with a little bit of smart batting as well.
“it was an exceptional partnership and a really good performance.
“it was a competitive total (184) and more often than not, that is a winning total. when you are chasing a total like that, you generally need a couple of guys to play really well and to have one really good partnership and that’s exactly what happened.
“it doesn’t happen all the time but that’s the intention and today was our day and those two in particular – and martin’s (guptill) contribution at the beginning – was top drawer.
“moeen is so good. the lads love having him around. he is a very special talent. we all know that and when he plays for us he just brings an added dimension to our group which is already a very good team.
“he loves batting here. i think he loves batting anywhere to be honest and he is still one of the very best around.
“the short break has done moeen good? that was the idea. it is exactly what he needed, just a week to chill out a bit and it has worked and he is enjoying playing cricket.
“he loves cricket and he is obviously in pretty good touch. he has brilliant. he has been great around the lads, full of energy, full of enthusiasm.
“even in the championship game we didn’t play very well in (at northampton), he was still wonderful around the lads and they love having him around. it really is as simple as that. he is great for us, our group and our cricket club, and long may it continue.”
