WORCESTERSHIRE started their Metro Bank One Day Cup campaign with a win on Tuesday as they beat Durham by 42 runs at the Seat Unique Riverside.

Kashif Ali top-scored for The Pears with 76 runs from just 59 deliveries as the visitors hit their highest ever List A score against Durham with 318 from 50 overs. 

Spinners Josh Baker and Brett D’Oliveira then did the damage with the ball, both picking up three wickets and having combined figures of 20-0-108-6 as Durham were bowled out for 276 in 46.2 overs.

It was the ideal start for the Rapids as they look to carry their T20 form into the one-day format.

After Kashif's fine knock, keeper-batter Ben Cox’s continued to pile on the runs with an unbeaten half-century that shepherded the Rapids to a formidable total.

There were important contributions from the entire top six with openers Brett D’Oliveira (28) and Azhar Ali (41) laying the foundations which were built on by new signing Rob Jones (24) and skipper Jake Libby (45) before the onslaught from Kashif and Cox.

Worcestershire were even able to overcome being on the receiving end of a hat-trick from spinner Liam Trevaskis as number 10 Dillon Pennington (15) and number 11 Ben Gibbon (13) added some valuable late runs to push the score past 300.

Durham did score freely during the initial part of their innings against the seamers as they reached 108-1 in the 16th over.

Opener Graham Clark scored 79 off 70 and put on 65 runs for the second wicket with David Bedingham, who scored 31.

Jonathan Bushnell scored 60 not-out but after Baker did the initial damage, D’Oliveira turned the screw with a flurry of wickets as the spin did for the home side, who fell well short in the end.

The Rapids now have seven games in the next 18 days as one-day cricket takes centre stage. They face Glamorgan at New Road on Friday before heading to Somerset on Sunday.