[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

T20 Blast, North Group

vs Yorkshire

New Road, Worcester

Yorks innings: Yorkshire won the toss and elected to bat on a sublime Friday evening in Worcester with the early summer sun bringing folks down to the Severn in droves. A huge double-blow knocked the visitors back early doors as Dillon Pennington had Dawid Malan caught behind for a duck off the third ball, and then Adam Lyth caught at mid-on for 4 in his next over to leave Yorkshire 10-2. Yet a recovery carried the Vikings to 44-2 off the powerplay before Brett D'Oliveira was able to break the stand with the wicket of Jonny Tattersall, top-edging on the sweep to short fine leg for 29, then Shan Masood holing out in his next over. 68-4 was a precarious position, but again Yorkshire fought back with a partnership and some huge scoring overs until Michael Bracewell had Jordan Thompson caught for 36; a quick cameo of 15 from David Wiese ended when he was caught off Pat Brown, who then got Ben Mike for 2 in exactly the same fashion three balls later. Still, Yorkshire just carried on hitting, and as Matthew Revis and Dom Bess plundered runs at the death, it took a smart run-out by Adam Finch to remove the former for 42 before Brown bowled Jafer Chohan for 2 with the final ball. 175-9 at the break, far from our worst day's work against Yorkshire, but the momentum seemed to rest with the visitors.

Worcs innings: And that momentum continued to swing away as Dolly was caught for 2 and Bracewell edged behind for 3 two balls later, reducing the Pears to a slightly worse position at 8-2 than the White Rose had been. Yet the subsequent recovery was remarkably similar, as Jack Haynes and Adam Hose found the boundary with pleasing regularity, finishing the powerplay 47-2. With the partnership on 78 and looking like a game-changer, Hose mistimed a shot to a ball that stuck a little in the pitch and was caught and bowled for 44, and in the following over, Haynes was guilty of pulling straight to deep midwicket for 32, but the wind remained firmly in Worcestershire sails as Kashif Ali announced himself with a parabolic six, and Ben Cox clubbed and innovated through a handful of overs until he was caught at deep square leg for 26. With 45 required from 30 balls and Ed Pollock the new man, it seemed almost a done deal, but the mercurial Wycombian rather foolishly attempted to take on the dangerous David Wiese with a death-or-glory shot that saw him bowled for 1, and Worcestershire's chances all but went up in smoke with him. Usama Mir managed one six before holing out to Wiese for 9 off the next ball, leaving the equation 31 required from 15; in the next over, down to 28 from 11, Adam Finch displayed a tantalising glimpse of his batting power with a scything stroke for four through cow corner, then a streaky bottom-edge to the fine leg boundary to keep the crowd's hopes alive. A single, a dot ball and the wicket of Kash for a useful 24 left the Pears firmly in Carlos Brathwaite territory, needing 19 from the final over with just two wickets remaining. With one last spear of sunlight slanting across the popping crease at the Diglis End, Matthew Fisher kicked off with a straight ball in the slot which Finchy duly deposited in the Basil D'Oliveira Stand. Needing 13 from 5, Fisher recovered with a quicker, wider second ball that evaded the batsman's desperate pull. 13 off 4, and Finchy got the toe-end of the bat to the next quick wide one, cutting it away for 2. 11 off 3, Fisher banged the fourth in only for the ball to sit up into the swinging arc of the tall number nine, and despite a long, high journey through the air, it marginally cleared the rope to the delight of the sun-kissed spectators signalling six en masse. 5 off 2, and with New Road already roused from silence into full-throated roars, Finchy sent Fisher's short ball flying towards the old scoreboard to bring the house down, and complete our most memorable T20 victory in years.

Worcestershire WIN by two wickets

The Verdict: As many T20 wins in two games this summer as we managed in all of 2022; ultimately you can't argue with success, and sport being sport, somehow it feels even more satisfying snatched from the jaws of defeat than ground out by a comfortable margin. Whether Bracewell will continue as opener for the entire campaign after these early misfires remains to be seen, but for now, I doubt Worcs will be too quick to change a winning formula. And Adam Finch? Fingers crossed that after many years in the shadows, this summer might just be his moment in the spotlight.