An outstanding display with the ball saw Worcestershire Rapids run through Kent Spitfires, defending 142 with ease by bowling the visitors out for just 59 and secure a vital Vitality T20 Blast victory at New Road.
On a bowler friendly surface, the Rapids had Adam Hose (47) and Sikandar Raza (43) to thank for a vital 68 run stand that helped them post a competitive score at the halfway mark after recovering from a slow start.
A frantic powerplay saw Ben Allison take two wickets as the Spitfires slipped to 32-3, before Worcestershire’s spinners ripped through Kent’s middle-order with four wickets for just nine runs.
Usama Mir (2-14) and Sikandar Raza (2-8) combined superbly once again to put the visitors in a fatal position, before a clinical finish saw the hosts romp to a ruthless 83 run win and keep the hopes of a knockout place alive heading into Sunday at Cardiff.
A bumper crowd packed New Road for a historic first-ever meeting between Worcestershire Rapids and Kent Spitfires in the Vitality T20 Blast on Friday evening, ahead of a crucial clash between two sides hunting knockout qualification.
Despite losing the toss, Isaac Mohammed and Kashif Ali led the home side to bat first on a sun-soaked evening, intent on making a positive start.
Kashif looked to start positively, but shortly after slashing the ball through cover for four, the opener was caught at mid-on halfway through the powerplay as the Spitfires made a disciplined start.
Gareth Roderick joined Isaac, but their partnership lasted just nine balls as the left-hander relented under the pressure of Matt Milnes, who was caught for four as Worcestershire stumbled to 14-2.
27-2 at the end of an attritional powerplay, skipper Adam Hose found the boundary with a creative reverse sweep at the start of the seventh over, before a near miss saw the pair avoid a kamikaze run out when Hose lost his footing and was made to scramble back to make his ground after dropping his bat.
Lintott was making life difficult for the Rapids, with pace off proving hard to get away, and the pressure told once again as Roderick was caught at extra cover looking to up the ante.
Making his final appearance for the Club, this brought Sikandar Raza to the middle, who had a major repair job on his hands to help his side out of a hole at 47-3.
Struggling for any momentum at the halfway stage, Worcestershire were searching for some impetus, which the Zimbabwe all-rounder looked to provide, in the face of a Kent attack that mixed their lines and lengths to great effect, varying their pace in abundance.
Hose battled on, running hard between the wickets, as he and Raza registered their fifty partnership in the 14th over, battling on to take the Rapids past 100 as a pivotal final five overs approached.
Raza began to cut loose, slamming two huge sixes over the legside boundary in quick succession, but his crucial cameo was abruptly ended on 43 when the fans’ favourite was bowled by the returning Milnes.
Facing just 31 balls and cracking six boundaries, the overseas star left to a standing ovation from the New Road, as the skipper continued to loosen his arms in his efforts to drag his team somewhere towards 150.
Matthew Waite launched a quickfire assault of 17 from 10 balls before the Captain’s valiant knock was cut short on the penultimate ball of the innings as he was caught at deep midwicket for a gritty 47, as the Rapids reached the halfway mark 142-7.
On a surface where scoring had proved difficult, the home side knew a strong start with the ball was paramount.
In a devastating opening spell, the home side decimated the Spitfires’ top order and reduced the visitors to 16-3 to snatch the momentum.
Tom Taylor struck first when he castled Harry Finch for six in the third over, beating the batter’s attempt to scoop the ball behind square and uprooting his leg stump.
The scintillating start continued, with Ben Allison tearing through Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sam Billings in the space of three balls, sending New Road into raptures.
A short ball was clothed to Matthew Waite at short fine-leg, who juggled the ball but held onto a vital catch to remove Bell-Drummond, before Allison darted one through the defences of skipper Billings with a jaffer to put the home side firmly on top.
Not giving up an inch, the pressure was relentless from Worcestershire in the field, who restricted Kent to 32-3 at the end of an exemplary powerplay which had shifted the course of the match.
The Rapids were not done just yet, however, as linchpin Sikandar Raza was the next man to strike, getting one to straighten on the experienced Joe Denly and pin him in front for 10.
The unrelenting nature of Worcestershire’s spin twins continued to tell when Usama Mir was sent wheeling away with the very first ball of his spell courtesy of a superb catch behind from Gareth Roderick, which sent England star Zak Crawley back to the hutch for 13.
The Worcestershire dominance showed no signs of slowing when Raza returned in his second over to claim the wicket of Tom Rogers (0), well caught in the deep by Kashif Ali, moments before some excellent work in the field by Waite at short fine leg caught Lintott halfway down the pitch and forced his run out to pile on the misery for the Spitfires.
47-7 at the halfway stage, a ruthless display from the home side had triggered a cataclysmic collapse of 4-9 and put the game beyond any realistic doubt.
Mir’s spellbinding performance was far from over, as he had time to claim a third wicket by pinning Benjamin LBW for six, shortly before Brett D’Oliveira took Kent’s ninth wicket with just his second ball when Grant Stewart fired one straight to Henry Cullen at long-off.
An incredible performance was capped off by a piece of fielding brilliance from Tom Taylor, who produced a pinpoint throw from short third man to run out Keith Dudgeon and seal an emphatic 83-run win.
Gloucestershire Tickets
