Patel Takes Maiden Five-Fer While Wounded Mike Sets List A Best In Rapids Defeat

By Jon Culley, ECB Reporters’ Network supported by Rothesay

Ben Mike (72*) set his new List A career-best with the bat despite being stricken by a left hamstring issue, while Rishi Patel (5/65) claimed his maiden five-wicket haul, but the pair’s heroics couldn’t prevent Worcestershire Rapids from taking a 16-run victory at Uptonsteel County Ground.

Earlier, Shan Masood (88) and Ben Cox (76) had shared 163 for the fifth wicket in a determined fightback after Leicestershire had had sunk to 23 for four in the early exchanges of their chase of 329.

Brett D’Oliveira’s 107 gave the Rapids a mighty platform, his second hundred of this year’s 50-over competition coming off 105 balls and containing 15 fours and two sixes. He shared a stand of 119 for the first wicket with Daniel Lategan (34 off 59). Rob Jones (67 off 59) made the next biggest impression.

Rapids won the toss, after which D’Oliveira and Lategan dominated the first 80 minutes of the contest.

Patel eventually had Lategan lbw sweeping, the breakthrough in the 20th over quickly followed by Kashif Ali and Libby falling cheaply. The former was beaten by a Patel leg break and stumped, Libby tamely caught and bowled by Trevaskis.

D’Oliveira was caught at mid-off soon afterwards, after which Ethan Brookes was leg before to Trevaskis reverse sweeping. But Jones holed out to long-on as Worcestershire lost wickets in each of the last four overs.

Holland bowled Cullen (32 from 27) off a bottom edge, Patel saw Allison caught at long-on and bowled Ben Gibbon to complete his five. Matthew Waite hit Tom Scriven straight to cover.

Nonetheless, the Rapids had thrown down a challenge which looked enormous as the Foxes found themselves four down for 23 inside six overs.

Gibbon, who missed the 2024 competition through injury, struck with his third delivery as Patel dragged on, the Foxes opener brought down to earth with a duck.

Lewis Hill was caught at point as Gibbon struck again, while Allison removed Sol Budinger, caught at cover, and skipper Peter Handscomb, who edged to second slip.

Yet Worcestershire’s new-ball pair then surrendered runs rather easily, Masood and Cox reeling off six consecutive fours - three apiece of each of the bowlers - and putting on 50 in just 26 balls in a confident counter-attack.

Waite and Brookes slowed their progress yet, as the silky Masood (50 from 41) and the busy Cox (50 from 53) stretched their partnership into three figures, a difficult caught-and-bowled chance offered to Brookes by Cox on 48 had been their only moment of jeopardy.

But when Brookes returned for a new spell, Cox tickled one on the leg side to be caught behind with Cullen standing up. Four balls later Cullen, now standing back to Allison, dived to his left to snare Masood off a thickish edge, leaving 141 needed, four wickets left, and less than 18 overs remaining.

Holland, top-edging to fine leg, and Trevaskis, slicing to third man, gave 19-year-old Jack Home two wickets. Mike was in obvious discomfort but after Scriven had picked out the fielder at deep midwicket he kept clearing the rope to keep the home crowd interested but 29 off the final Allison over was too many.