Worcestershire Rapids bowler Adam Finch said his side will “dust themselves off” ahead of Friday’s derby date with Warwickshire Bears, after a first defeat of the Vitality Blast T20 season against Northants Steelbacks on Sunday.
A comprehensive 100-run defeat prevented the home side from going two wins from two at the start of the Central and West group stage, on a day where the Rapids never got going.
A David Willey blitz set the Steelbacks on course for a big total, but a mid-innings fightback spearheaded by Finch, who finished with 3-36, kept the visitors to a score around par.
Finch, said it was important to stay focussed on his role after his first over went for 24, as he hit back in style to make a pivotal double-breakthrough in his first over back.
“That clearly hasn’t gone our way today, but we know how quickly the competition moves and we won’t get too caught up on it.
“They had a good powerplay and took the momentum early and I didn’t execute my skills as I would have liked.
“I tried to stay calm because things like that can happen in T20 cricket, don’t get too caught up on it and make sure that the next time my chance comes I take it.”
A troubling start saw the home side fall to 32-4, a position from which they never fully recovered.
Kashif Ali showed some defiance with a composed 38 in the middle-order, where a 45-run stand with Sikandar Raza threw the hosts a lifeline, before Raza’s dismissal in the 11th over proved fatal.
Calvin Harrison put the lower order in a spin, picking up 4-17, as the Rapids were bundled out for 91.
The focus for Worcestershire now shifts to next Friday, as the Rapids prepare for one of the biggest T20 Blast games in recent memory at New Road.
With the game set to be televised and a bumper crowd expected, Finch said it is imperative his team move on quickly from defeat against Northants.
“We have to dust ourselves off for a massive game against the Bears on Friday.
“Things happen quickly and sometimes in a very frantic way, things didn’t go our way today, they did on Friday, so we just have to try and take the momentum and positives we can from both performances.
“Big, big game on Friday night and we won’t let what happened today affect us.”
