Worcestershire Rapids were crowned Metro Bank One Day Cup champions after sealing a thrilling three-wicket win over Hampshire in the last over of the match in an unforgettable final at Trent Bridge.
A man of the match performance from Ethan Brookes saw him blaze a stunning 57 from 34 balls to turn the match on it’s head and kickstart the Worcestershire revival in a rain affected run-chase.
Chasing a revised 188 to win, the Rapids needed 13 to win from the final over of a nerve jangling contest, with Matthew Waite and Henry Cullen coming together to seal victory in style.
Key contributions from Jake Libby (37) and Kashif (25) kept the Rapids in the game as the run rate had begun to climb, having earlier restricted Hampshire to 237-7 from their 45 overs.
Three wickets for Matthew Waite kept the Rapids in touch throughout the Hampshire innings, as the seam bowling quintet, led by Tom Taylor (1-16) bowled cohesively once again.
Having won the toss, captain Jake Libby elected to bowl first, with the floodlights taking full effect at Trent Bridge as a consequence of the gloomy skies and heavy cloud cover that surrounded the ground.
With Brett D’Oliveira absent at the top of the order as a result of the ankle injury sustained earlier in the week against Durham, Gareth Roderick was called into the side, taking the gloves and opening the batting for the Rapids.
It was Hampshire who enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, cashing in as Khurram Shahzad struggled to hold a consistent length, despite Tom Taylor beating the bat on numerous occasions, only conceding 16 runs from his opening six over spell.
Matthew Waite, was the man who kickstarted the Rapids fightback when he got a delivery to square up Nick Gubbins and catch a leading edge straight to Henry Cullen at backward point.
Rob Jones almost doubled the delight in the 20th over when he produced a fine bit of fielding at short extra cover to almost hang on to an extraordinary one-handed reaction catch, but the fielding side continued their squeeze nonetheless and went eight overs without conceding a boundary.
A brief rain delay saw the players leave the field with Hampshire 106-1, but just thirty minutes later the sides resumed having not lost any overs in the contest.
Tom Taylor’s reintroduction into the attack spelt the end for Fletcha Middleton on 18 as he mis-timed a drive straight to Jones at short extra-cover with Worcestershire’s resurgence now in full flight.
Halted once again by rain once again, Hampshire’s innings was reduced by five overs, before Worcestershire returned to the field to take two wickets in the space of three overs as Hampshire slipped to 169-4.
Ben Allison claimed his first wicket of the day when he hurried Albert with a short ball that the batter top edged to Dan Lategan at deep square leg, quickly followed up by a Brookes wicket as he clean bowled Ben Mayes for two.
With Taylor, (1-24) having bowled his allotted nine overs, it was Matthew Waite who struck next with a sensational reaction catch off his own bowling to see the back of centurion Orr, before Allison followed up with the wicket of James Fuller (26) in the 43rd over as Hampshire innings tailed off at 226-6.
The momentum was firmly with the bowling side as the innings reached its climax, with Waite snagging his third wicket of what had transpired into a vital spell, supported by some superb death bowling from Khurram as the Hampshire innings was brought to a close 237-7.
After a lengthy break enforced by rain, Worcestershire’s innings got off to a belated start, with an adjusted 188 runs required from 27 overs.
The pursuit, that began at a required rate of just under seven-an-over, started in ideal fashion for the Rapids, with Dan Lategan and Gareth Roderick flying out of the blocks to take their side to 30 without loss inside four overs.
Lategan cleared the boundary for the first time during the innings when he skipped down the pitch and climbed into an Brad Wheal delivery that was plunged into the stands back over the bowlers head.
In a damaging nine ball spell however, the Rapids lost both of their openers, stalling the chase in its early stages.
Roderick (13) was the first to go, out, caught at deep third man as he looked to open up the offside with an expansive drive, shortly before Lategan followed him having edged a length ball behind attempting a cut shot, for 18.
At 31-2 and now 16 runs behind on DLS, Jake Libby and Kashif Ali started the rebuild, forced to consolidate with the game balanced on a knife edge.
Libby nailed the first ball of James Fuller’s third over into the stands for a flat six, before rotating the strike for the remainder of the over as the Worcestershire skipper searched to gain his side a foothold in the match.
77-2 at the halfway stage of the chase, keeping wickets in hand was always going to be the key factor in a run chase that was teetering to just over eight runs an over.
The partnership was worth 62 and Worcestershire were enjoying their most productive spell of the run chase, before Kashif Ali failed to connect with a reverse sweep, finding the fielder at backward point and departing for a well made 25.
Libby continued with new man Ethan Brookes, promoted up the order as the Rapids looked to accelerate their run-rate, with the hundred brought up in the 18th over, as Worcestershire struggled to pierce the infield.
The pressure was building on the side chasing, and shortly after passing 11,000 career runs, the pressure told as captain Libby edged behind after making 37 from 40 balls, leaving Worcestershire 107-4.
As has so often been the case this season, all-rounder Brookes took control of the situation, targeting the 21st over, dispatching Wheal for a six and a four in the process of scoring 14 off the over as the Rapids refused to lie down.
With 47 required off 30 balls and the ground now fully illuminated under the floodlights, the tension was palpable.
Brookes, remained composed, bringing up his 50 off just 30 balls, in a clutch cameo that had included eight boundaries and kept his team firmly in the hunt.
The 25th over was dispatched for 15 runs, with Brookes in fifth gear, before disaster struck as the Rapids’ key man top edged a ball straight in the air to see his wicket fall with 20 still required.
Matthew Waite plundered his first ball for six into the leg side, before the loss of Rob Jones and Tom Taylor in consecutive balls left the Rapids needing 13 to win from the final over.
A final over that will go down in folklore then proceeded, as Waite plundered the second ball for six with an enormous blow into the stands to take his side within one hit, before taking a single to leave new man Henry Cullen, on strike.
A hook shot down to fine leg looked to have found its way straight down the throat of Kyle Abbott, but the fielder fumbled the catch and fell back onto the boundary rope – sending Worcestershire players and fans alike into raptures as the Rapids were confirmed as 2025 Metro Bank One Day Cup champions.
