Worcestershire U-18s secured a comfortable five-wicket win in a competitive two-day friendly over Shropshire at Kidderminster, in a run-chase of 178 that was completed late on in the final session.
Spinner Tom Odell caught the eye with sensational match-figures of 11-106 for Worcestershire across the two-days play.
Losing the toss, captain Flynn Gunston led his side into the field looking to continue their good form after their recent qualification into the County Cup quarter-final.
Worcestershire had Odell to thank in a rain-delayed first innings, as he starred with the ball, returning exceptional figures of 5-32 from his 15 overs.
The bowlers shone in an efficient performance, as Shropshire declared on 143-8, keen to hurry the game up and force a result. There were wickets for Jamie Cooley and Krish Chauhan in the process, whilst a run-out ensured that only three of the batters on the card made it into double-figures.
In response, Worcestershire took a similar approach to ensure both sides maximised their output from the game, declaring just 14-runs ahead having made their way to 157-5.
After losing Henry Hardinges early, Sohaym Maddekar top-scored for his side with a watchful 69 off 91 balls, as he and captain Gunston (57) added 119 for the fourth-wicket, shortly before the declaration was confirmed.
Shropshire looked to post a competitive target for their opponents in the decisive third innings of the match, but were once again restricted by the impressive Odell, who enjoyed another superb outing with the ball.
Worcestershire had to wait until the 19th over for a breakthrough, when Cooley (1-26) had the Shropshire opener caught by Joe Harrison.
Chauhan picked up up the scalp of the Shropshire skipper, in between another brilliant spell from Odell, who removed three of the top four to get his side moving and leave their opponents 170-5.
The last five-wickets then fell for just 21-runs, as Worcestershire enforced a seismic collapse, that saw Jack Shields collect two scalps for 19 runs and the in-form Odell collect three more of his own as he returned innings figures of 6-74.
Set an ordinarily straight forward 178 to win, the hosts did not have time on their side, as the earlier delays in the match meant they would have just over a session to chase down the target for victory.
Despite losing Hardinges (3) and Harrison (15) in the early stages of the reply, Madekkar and Yusuf Akbar came together to add 82 for the third wicket in a controlled partnership.
Madekkar made his way to 46, but fell just shy of his half-century when he was bowled, and the chase risked wobbling further when Akbar was stumped for a fluent 54 off jut 35 balls that had helped his team to 137-4, within 50 of the target.
Gunston then entered the fray and eased any worries with a quick fire 51* from 43 to see his side home and wrap-up to a comfortable five wicket victory in the end.
