METRO Bank Trophy Final at Trent Bridge Saturday September 20th

Neil Whitaker reports

WORCESTERSHIRE Rapids  beat Hampshire Hawks by three wickets to win the Metro Bank Trophy at Trent Bridge in dramatic fashion.

With three needed, Henry Cullen pulled Brad Wheal to Kyle Abbott on the fine leg boundary but as he fell his elbow touched the boundary. With Mathew Waite he had to wait in the middle till the TV umpire Neil Banton ruled that it was a six.

Three rain interruptions, twice during the Hawks’ innings and one just before the start of the Rapids innings,  reduced Worcestershire Rapids innings to 27  overs and their target was 188.

Opener Dan Lategan went down the pitch to  Brad Wheal’s first ball of his second over and smashed him over mid-wicket for a huge six.  

The Rapids lost their first wicket when Gareth Rocerick  sliced a drive off James Fuller and substitute Tom Prest on for Toby Albert, ran from the third man boundary, dived forward and took the catch.  Two overs  later Scott Currie kissed the shoulder of Lategan’s bat and stumper Ben Brown took a simple catch.

Rapids captain Jake Libby pushed Fuller into the covers and set off for a single, luckily for the Rapids captain the throw missed the stumps because he wasn’t in the frame. Libby pulled Fuller over mid-wicket for a six.

Tight and accurate bowling by the Hawks dried the Rapids boundaries up but an edge by Kashif Ali off Andrew Neal beat Brown and ran for boundary.  After that early boundary Neal got a wicket when Kashif Ali reversed swept him to Fletcha  Middleton at point. With Libby he added 62 in 10 overs for the third wicket.

Libby had a big swing at Currie and bottom edged it to give Brown a regulation catch.  He said: “ Me  and Kashif Ali  set up  the platform.  At the halfway stage I faced the long chase but it doesn't matter how you get over the line just  as long as you do.  It’s been a special day for us.

 We’ve played some really good cricket this season. This means a lot to a lot of people at the club and Josh Baker is still in our thoughts and we dedicate this victory to him.  We’ve had an up and down season with getting relegated from the first division.  To come away with a trophy makes it a special day for us. I didn’t celebrate at first, I had to stand and wait for it to be confirmed.”

With the Rapids getting further behind on DLS, Ethan Brookes pulled Wheal to square leg for a much welcome boundary. After one boundary he hit another one two balls later.  In the next over he hit another boundary when  he got a thick outside edge  to Fuller which just evaded Brown.  Then he threw the kitchen sink at Fuller and got a straight six.

From the final five overs the Rapids needed 47. Brookes flat batted Currie for a straight four.  With 35 needed  he reached his 50 when he pulled Abbott for a six.  He finished the over with another six over square leg. But he couldn’t get the Rapids over the line, he had a big swing at Currie and the ball went high into the Nottingham night and stumper  Ben Brown took the catch. His 57 came from 34 balls and included four sixes.

Waite smashed his first ball for a six over mid wicket.  Rob Jones' first big hit found Fuller on the mid-wicket boundary.  Tom Taylor hit his only ball in the air and Nick Gubbins took a good catch with the ball coming over his shoulder. Waite pulled Wheal for another six then we got that amazing finish.

Brookes said: “It’s all a bit of a blur I just went out to blast every ball over the line.   I thought Waite’s knock was a special one.  To have the opportunity to win silverware with this club is very special.

Put into bat on a grey Nottingham morning with a hint of rain in the air Hampshire made 237 in their 45 overs with Ali Orr top top scoring with 110. It was   his fifth List A century which  came from 130 balls and included two sixes and 10 fours.  He made his intentions known from the first ball of the day when he drove Taylor to the cover boundary.

He steered Waite past stumper Roderick to the third man boundary to bring up his fifth List A 50.  This one came from 62 balls and included seven four. Orr  pulled  Ben Allison bisecting fine leg and square leg on the boundary but he only got a single.

After a 30 minute delay because of rain he scooped   Brookes  over the head of stumper Broderick for another boundary.  He  swept the unlucky Brookes over the mid-wicket boundary for the first six of the match.  Orr slog/swept Waite for a six over square leg to take him into the 90’s.

Just as he was looking to blast the Hawks well past 250 he smashed Waite, straight, who stuck out his right hand in his follow through and the ball stuck. 

Orr and his captain Gubbins made a steady start to the Hawks innings but they still scored at five an over.  In those first 10 overs it was Gubbins who looked unsafe especially  when on 16 he  nibbled at one from Taylor which left him.  He  was the first to go in the 17th over when he got a leading edge to Waite and Cullen at point took the catch. 

On three Middleton had a life when  drove Allison to Jones at short cover but Jones couldn’t hold on to it.  But Middleton couldn’t get going and his scrappy innings came to an end when he chipped Taylor to Jones at cover.

After a  second stoppage because of rain which lasted 42 minutes the match was  reduced to 45 overs.  Toby Albert flat batted Brookes to Taylor on the long-on boundary but Taylor didn’t attack the ball and dropped it. But it didn’t prove too expensive,  in the next over Albert pulled Allison to Lategan  on the square leg boundary.

Fuller pulled Allison to the mid-wicket boundary with disdain. But after  he couldn’t get Allison away in the 43rd over when they only scored two runs, Fuller didn’t get enough power into his straight drive and found Brookes on the long-on boundary.

For the Rapids it was their second  defeat in a final in seven days and Gubbins said: “What happened today is part of sport, I thought the lads gave everything. We lost an important toss and I didn’t know how to go about our innings.  I thought Orr played an exceptional innings.  I felt we were in control of the game but I am proud  of every bowler.

Tomorrow we dust ourselves down and start again. If you are going to win trophies you are going to lose some but I’d rather be here after losing a final than sit at home after been knocked out in the group stages.

But if there is one team I would lose to it is Worcestershire Rapids.”

SCORECARD