Andrew seals thrilling win in the dark
Worcestershire registered their second Friends Life t20 victory of the week as they squeezed past local rivals Warwickshire by one wicket in near darkness at Edgbaston
17-Jun-2011
Worcestershire registered their second Friends Life t20 victory of the week as they squeezed past local rivals Warwickshire by one wicket in near darkness at Edgbaston.
The Bears' highest Twenty20 total of the season - an imposing 184 for 6 - still proved inadequate as the ever-dangerous Gareth Andrew led the Royals home with five balls to spare. The big-hitting all-rounder smashed an unbeaten 65 with four fours and four sixes from 32 deliveries as Worcestershire's lower order successfully chased 51 from the last five overs.
With steady drizzle falling at the start of the innings, Vikram Solanki kept them up with the Duckworth-Lewis rate with a rapid 33 but when Chris Woakes knocked out his leg stump, wickets fell at frequent intervals, three of them to Steffan Piolet.
However, the medium pacer's last over then cost 21 runs and Warwickshire fell apart under a withering assault from Andrew in his second Twenty20 half-century of the season. With four wanted from the last over, he finished the match by pulling Neil Carter for six.
For the first time in seven matches Warwickshire batted first. William Porterfield got them under way with a brisk half-century and Tim Ambrose gave the innings a final flourish with an unbeaten 44 from 23 balls.
Umpires Mark Benson and Peter Hartley kept the game going despite steady rain and it was Worcestershire's bowlers who suffered first as they struggled with a wet ball.
The pressure got to them at the death when Ambrose and Woakes (17 not out) stretched an unbroken partnership to 65 after plundering 36 from the last two overs by Jack Shantry and Andrew.
Warwickshire lost two early wickets to full tosses and Porterfield's destructive performance could have ended prematurely as a steepling shot off Chris Whelan only just cleared Shakib Al Hasan in front of the fence at midwicket.
The Ireland captain was finally caught at deep point for 54 as Worcestershire adopted their regular formula by getting their spinners into play at an early stage but Shakib and Moeen Ali became a shade more expensive than usual.
Their three wickets cost 57 in seven overs against a strong bating line-up. Rikki Clarke chipped in with a useful 22 and Ambrose scooted away at the end, scoring 33 runs from the last 12 balls he faced and reaching his highest Twenty20 score in four years.