Worcestershire 2nd XI suffered their second defeat in a row as they fell to a five-wicket defeat against Northants Steelbacks at Milton Keynes, in the Second XI T20 Central group.
After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, the visitors could only muster 138-8 in a frustrating batting display.
Henry Cullen (29) shone once again, as he continued his impressive form on his way to registering his side’s top score of the innings.
It was a scorecard that reflected the economical nature of the hosts’ bowling, with nobody going for more than 7.5 runs an over.
Tom Hinley (20) and Fateh Singh (18) both chipped in, but with wickets falling at regular intervals, posting a threatening target always looked unlikely.
In contrast to the Worcestershire card, the Steelbacks batters made contributions throughout, despite the valiant efforts of the Worcestershire bowling unit.
Youngster Raymond Rhys Bailey (3-2-21-2) looked assured with the ball, as he accounted for the wickets of Patel (24) and Willey (17).
Northants made their way to 97-4, with Hinley (3-0-24-1) and Asad Azami (4-0-33-2) taking wickets in the process.
The efforts were in vein however, as a calm and assured sixth-wicket partnership saw Northants ease home with two-overs spare.
The defeat leaves Worcestershire 2nd XI fourth in the table, having lost two and won one of their three fixtures in the group stage so far, with Warwickshire the next opponents on Tuesday.
