A sparkling 5o from Adam Hose guided Worcestershire Rapids to a convincing 27-run win over Glamorgan as the home side made it three wins from four matches in the Central and West Vitality Blast T20 group.
Hose came to the middle with his side 28-2, scoring a half-century from 30 balls as he and Isaac Mohammed (30) led the home side to 168-8, supported by some lower order brutality from Usama Mir (23 off 10).
Spinner Sikandar Raza made the crucial breakthrough after Glamorgan’s fast start in the powerplay, as Worcestershire squeezed the visitors to 68-5 to assert control.
Raza finished with exceptional figures of 4-17, with the Rapids bowling contingent showing a clinical edge to ease to victory and make it back to back wins at New Road in the Blast.
An unchanged Worcestershire Rapids side returned to New Road under gloomy skies on Friday evening, exactly a week on from an unforgettable derby day.
Playing a Glamorgan side fresh off a thrilling win over Somerset the night prior, the hosts were invited to bat first by Kiran Carlson.
Isaac started in a typically assertive fashion, lashing two boundaries through midwicket in the second over as the teenager looked to ignite the innings.
His opening partner was unable to repeat his cameo from a week prior as he was caught at mid-off in the third over for six, before the Rapids saw their second wicket fall just two balls later.
Kashif Ali entered the fray in style by depositing his first ball for four through long-on, but had his middle stump uprooted with the very next delivery as Worcestershire stumbled to 28-2.
Adam Hose came together with Isaac, looking to reignite the Rapids innings, with Hose finding the boundary twice as the Rapids finished the powerplay 42-2.
Isaac was given a reprieve on 23 when Andy Gorvin failed to cling onto a tough catch off his own bowling, with the batting duo running hard between the wickets to take the home team past fifty as boundaries proved hard to come by.
A release shot from Hose saw the first maximum of the evening bunted through cow corner, before Isaac followed suit with a heave through midwicket for four, but that was to be his last act as he held out in the same region the next ball for a run-a-ball 30.
70-3 at the halfway stage, Ethan Brookes started in inventive fashion, reverse sweeping for four as the Glamorgan seam bowlers varied their lengths and paces to good effect.
Hose relieved some pressure in the 12th over with a huge blow over midwicket into the Graeme Hick Pavilion, repeating the shot the next over as the Rapids battled hard to keep their run rate just over seven.
The job of shifting through the gears was made all the more difficult when Brookes (8) mistimed a release shot down the ground and had to depart, an over before Hose followed suit shortly after making his seventh 50 in Worcestershire colours.
At 103-5, Gareth Roderick and Sikandar Raza came together and added 26 for the fifth wicket, but Raza (11) and Roderick (17) were both caught within five balls of one another as a par score of 160 seemed to be slipping away from the hosts.
A lusty blow early in Usama Mir’s innings signalled his intent, as he and Matthew Waite traded maximums in the penultimate over, defying Glamorgan’s short ball tactic in the last over as Mir finished 23 from 11 to help the home side set Glamorgan 169 to win.
Worcestershire started their defence under darkened skies, with Tom Taylor and Matthew Waite pressing hard for an early breakthrough with the new ball.
Adam Finch (0-18) entered the attack without any reward in his one over spell early on, as Glamorgan made their way to fifty without a blemish, with the Rapids behind the Duckworth-Lewis par score at the end of the powerplay.
Skipper D’Oliveira shuffled his pack, turning to Usama Mir, who took just four balls to see his plan come to fruition, with the dangerous Carlson firing a slog sweep straight to Kashif Ali at deep midwicket for 35.
Conceding just three from his over, Raza entered the fray from the New Road End looking to tie the visitors down, who had by this point slipped behind the DLS rate.
The Rapids squeeze paid dividends, with Raza sneaking one between Will Smale’s bat and pad for 18, with the Zimbabwean skipper notching his 500th career wicket in all formats.
The see-saw nature of the contest saw the hosts regain the momentum, as Finch struck upon his reintroduction to the attack, bouncing out Henry Hurle for nought courtesy of a safe catch by Matthew Waite in the deep.
With their tails up, Raza showed his worth with a second wicket in as many overs as Ben Kellaway chipped one back to the spinner, with the home side turning the screw at 67-4, currently 19 runs ahead on DLS.
The middle order collapse continued when Finch (2-25) grabbed his second wicket of the evening by castling Sean Dickson, before play was temporarily halted as bad light stopped play at 68-5.
In a dominant position when the players returned 10 minutes later, no time in the game was lost, meaning the Rapids still required five wickets from the remaining nine overs, and Glamorgan would have to score at more than 12 an over to stop the home team making it three wins from four games.
A painful-looking knee injury to Adam Finch caused a short delay in the 14th over, before Brookes joined the attack and hurried his team towards victory by snagging Jimmy Neesham with just his third ball, 30 runs behind DLS par score.
Raza returned to grab his third and fourth wickets of the night, before Mir (2-34) pinched his second and Waite yorked McAndrew to seal a comprehensive 27-run win.
The games come thick and fast for the Rapids, who must now prepare to face Gloucestershire in just 48 hours’ time.
