Hose smashes Worcestershire to victory against Nottinghamshire

Adam Hose clocked up six sixes in a superb 51-ball 95 with Kashif Ali hitting 51 off 35 as the Rapids totalled a challenging 206 for five after being asked to bat first as the rain that had washed out the scheduled Blast Women’s game earlier thankfully disappeared.

Tom Moores (39 off 27), Joe Clarke (31 off 24) and Liam Patterson-White (39 off 19) tried to keep the Outlaws in contention but Worcestershire’s bowlers served their team well by taking wickets at key moments, two each from Tom Taylor and Jacob Duffy, with Australian paceman Ben Dwarshius (one for 23) outstanding at the death, conceding only 11 in his last two overs as the home side fell short at 181 for seven.

Worcestershire’s total was all the more remarkable given they were one for two after seven balls as Brett D’Oliveira, stumbling out of his ground after keeping out a sharp delivery from Daniel Sams, was run out by the bowler, and Ed Pollock’s slog-sweep picked out deep backward square.

Kashif Ali’s aggression restored some order from a Rapids point of view but after hitting four fours and three sixes he perished for 51 at 74 for three in the 10th, skying one to long on off leg spinner Calvin Harrison.

But Hose now took the initiative, clearing the ropes three times in going to 52 from 32, with Ethan Brookes backing him up with 32 from 19 before finding Sams on the mid-wicket boundary after the fourth wicket pair had added 77 in 38 balls.

With three more maximums, Hose advanced to within one blow of a third T20 hundred before he was leg before attempting to ramp Dillon Pennington in the last over but 18 off nine from Dwarshius took the Worcestershire total past 200 for the fourth time at Trent Bridge and the sixes tally to 11.

The Outlaws chased down 227 here just over a week ago but were in trouble at 44 for three in the seventh. Lyndon James clubbed to mid-on in the opening over, Jack Haynes pulled sixes off Dwarshius and Duffy but skewed a slower ball from the latter to mid-off and Moises Henriques was easily stumped off former Nottinghamshire left-arm spinner Fateh Singh.

Clarke’s attempt to kick start a faltering effort brought him a second six as he slog-swept Singh but his attempt to clear extra cover saw him fall to a well-judged catch by D’Oliveira, Sams sliced to backward point and Moores fell to a similar shot, after which Patterson-White’s lusty blows proved not enough.