Three Worcestershire players scored undefeated centuries in a 'Royals' versus 'Rapids' 50 over clash at Kidderminster which ended with the 'Royals' triumphing by one run.
Ollie Westbury hit 138 not out off 120 balls with 23 boundaries before retiring when opening for the 'Royals' who totalled 320-5 after electing to bat on a glorious spring day.
Then Adam Wiffen and Jack Haynes replied for the 'Rapids' by scoring 100 not out and 107 not out respectively before retiring during an opening stand of 199.
Wiffen struck one six and 14 fours in his 95 ball knock and Haynes one six and 13 fours off 104 deliveries.
A keenly fought contest ended with the 'Rapids' on 319-4.
Westbury has shown his liking for batting for long periods as demonstrated with his eight hour 196 for England Under-19s last summer.
But he has been working with batting coach Kevin Sharp during the winter on developing his strokeplay.
That was evident as he shared in stands of 76 with Will Wade (29) and 97 with Alexei Kervezee (54 off 35 balls) before retiring with the total on 263-3 at the end of the 40th over.
Nick Hammond, with 44 off 47 deliveries, was the other main contributor.
The 'Rapids' also found batting to their liking via Wiffen and Haynes's big opening partnership.
Zen Malik also weighed in with 46 but his side pulled up just short after requiring six from the final delivery for victory.
Alex Hepburn picked up two wickets in an over and could have had a third but for a spilled catch.
But the match proved invaluable practice ahead of the forthcoming Second Eleven and Academy fixtures.
ROYALS
Hepburn c Wilcox b Davis 0
Westbury retired not out 138
Wade c Dell b Ul-Hassan 29
Kervezee c Wiffen b Ul-Hassan 54
Hammond c Twohig b Ahmed 44
Xavier Clarke b Twohig 13
Holland not out 13
Pennington not out 9
Extras 20
Total (for 5 wickets) 320 in 50 overs
FOW: 6, 76, 173, 291, 305
Bowling
Davis 8-2-44-1
Finch 10-0-72-0
Ul-Hassan 8-0-43-2
Ahmed 10-0-52-1
Malik 5-0-42-0
Twohig 9-0-65-1
——————
RAPIDS
Wiffen retired not out 100
Jack Haynes retired not out 107
Malik c Dodd b Hepburn 46
Dell c Hammond b Pugh 8
Ul-Hassan b Brown 20
Twohig c and b Hepburn 0
Herridge not out 16
Ahmed not out 14
Extras 8
Total (for 4 wickets) 319 in 50 overs
FOW: 233, 280, 280, 302
Bowling
Pennington 7-0-43-0
Brown 10-0-89-1
Hepburn 10-0-56-2
Kervezee 10-0-52-0
Xavier Clarke 3-0-29-0
Pugh 10-0-50-1
