Worcestershire Rapids 2nd XI enjoyed wins over Gloucestershire and Somerset this week to finish on a high in 2nd XI T20 Central Group.
After a challenging start to the tournament, the side were presented with a chance to finish on a high, which they duly took on Monday and Tuesday.
Starting the week at Bath CC, the Rapids elected to bowl first against Gloucestershire, bowling cohesively to restrict their opponents to 146-9.
A first wicket stand of 64 did not deter Alexei Kervezee’s side, as Fateh Singh (3-27) snagged the opening wicket of the contest in the seventh over, with the spinner hitting back in his next over when Harry Darley took a smart catch on the legside boundary.
Youngster Lucian Brockman got in on the action as he then triggered a middle order collapse of 3-8, as he Darley and the aforementioned Singh reduced Gloucestershire to 111-5 and wrestled back the momentum.
Worcestershire’s bowlers dominated the back end of the innings, restricting the hosts final six batters to add a combined 18 runs and take a real grip on proceedings.
Ben Gibbon (3-29) took the sixth, seventh and eighth wickets for the Rapids, with the left armer showing what he is capable of in a devastating spell that ripped through the lower order, with the penultimate over costing just three runs and yielding two wickets,
Darley returned in the 20th to snag the final Gloucestershire wicket, with opening pair Genaro Reddy and Dan Lategan keen to make positive inroads.
The early loss of Reddy (6) did not deter the Rapids, with Lategan showing his clinical edge whilst skipper Rehaan Edavalath unleashed on the bowling attack.
Lategan made a comfortable 28 from 23 in a second wicket stand worth 58, but it was Edavalath who caught the eye in a blistering 55 from just 39 balls, slamming six fours and two maximums in a pivotal innings.
Taking his team beyond the hundred mark, the skipper showed poise and power aplenty before he was eventually bowled in the 15th over.
Trialist Seb Linnitt (26 from 22) came together with Academy prospect Seth Essenhigh to add 32 for the fourth wicket, and by the time the pair had come and gone, the Rapids needed just four to win, with Singh and Home easing their side to a five wicket win with two overs to spare.
The encouraging display on Monday was backed up just 24 hours later, when the Rapids returned to Bromsgrove to face Somerset.
Sticking to the same strategy and inserting their opponents to bat, Worcestershire had the in-form Gibbon to thank once again, as he stormed through the Somerset top-order by taking two wickets in four balls to reduce the visitors to 3-2.
Pro Josh Thomas showed his experience with a brisk 34, but his wicket was claimed by Fateh Singh in the ninth over as Worcestershire asserted control at 60-3.
Jack Home produced an excellent spell on the day to return figures of 2-24, claiming the next wicket of Roberts in the 12th, and Michael in the 16th as the hosts continued to peg Somerset back.
Harry Darley (1-29) got in on the action soon after, with Beyers Swanepoel taking a straightforward catch in the deep.
A smart piece of fielding saw Darley effect the run-out of Coleman, but a final flourish helped the away team to a final total of 159-7, setting the Rapids 160 runs to win at exactly eight an over.
A bright start from openers Henry Cullen and Kashif Ali set their side off to a terrific start, adding 46 for the first wicket, before Kashif’s breezy knock of 22 was abruptly ended having slammed two fours and two sixes.
The in-form Cullen continued, lashing nine fours and two maximums on his way to yet another half-century, departing in the ninth over with his team 84-2.
Edavalath (3) was unable to repeat his antics from the previous day, but Jake Libby played with his usual composure to combine with the impressive Seb Linnitt (25 from 24) to enhance Worcestershire’s control on the chase.
Libby was dismissed in the 14th over, with his side needing 40 to make it two wins in succession, a task that was completed with minimal fuss as Ben Gibbon (18 from 9) slammed four boundaries to see his side over the line by two wickets in the end.
That completes the T20 action for the 2nd XI this summer, who will now turn their attentions to four-day cricket, hoping to extend their impressive start to the longer format which has seen them go unbeaten at the start of the season, with Glamorgan lying in wait on July 13th at Bromsgrove.
