worcestershire head coach kevin sharp gave his reaction after the rapids lost for the first time this season in the vitality blast.
the rapids still lead the north group by two points after going down by 12 runs to yorkshire vikings at New Road.
sharp said: “i think we got a bit nearer (to their total) than it looked at one point and that shows the resilience of the team.
“but it is a fine line in this competition and if you are just not quite at your best, as we haven’t been today really if we are honest, you will lose a game.
“their total (of 179) was competitive. we probably didn’t get off to the best start and probably weren’t as tight with our lines and lengths as we have been in the last few games.
“there was a little bit of width for adam lyth and he was able to get away which is not what we planned.
“they had two or three guys who got 30-40s which gave them a decent start. we did peg it back well in the last eight to 10 overs.
“with our batting line-up, you’d always fancy yourselves to possibly get there.
“obviously when you lose wickets like we did, without having the partnerships you need in the first six batters, then it is going to be more difficult.
“but we do bat deep, and we do have lads who are very capable of something special at the end – and there was some good batting at the end.
“it was just one step too far.
“it’s fine margins. there were two fantastic strikes by travis head and luke wood to mid wicket and on another day, when things are going for you, they will go for four or six.
“that is what is like. you accept that in this game because you know it’s very unlikely you are going to play 14 games and win all of them.
“we’ve got a great bunch of lads with a lot of talent. there is experience in some areas and lack of experience in others. they are all at different levels and learning their trade.”
rapids skipper brett d’oliveira said: “we were relatively happy at half-way. the first six overs we probably didn’t quite execute what we wanted to do and allowed them to get off to a bit of a flier.
“we pulled it back quite well and, chasing 180, we were happy with that and we thought we could chase it down. unfortunately, we didn’t.
“when ross whiteley is at the crease, you are always in the game. he hits it a long way, he is a powerful striker and he has done it many times before but unfortunately today wasn’t his day.
“you go out to win every game of cricket but you are unrealistic if you think you are going to win every game. we weren’t at our best day but i’m sure we’ll park this one and move onto the next one and come back strong.”
