It was a record-breaking day at the office for Adam Hose and Matthew Waite as Worcestershire Rapids beat Leicestershire Foxes by 16 runs.
Playing at Visit Worcestershire New Road in Worcester on Thursday (July 11), Hose hit his highest Vitality Blast score and Waite set a new personal best for his T20 cricket career.
Hose surpassed his previous 61-run score against Northamptonshire Steelbacks last summer by two runs, and hit the highest score for Worcestershire this season in just 39 balls.
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Steered by Hose's heroics, the Rapids surpassed last weekend’s previous best of 181 against Lancashire Lightning, hitting 184 runs in the innings.
Kashif Ali provided excellent support, smashing 41 off 25 deliveries in a good day at the crease for the hosts.
With the ball in hand 19-year-old Harry Darley also gave a remarkable performance, claiming two wickets with his first two legitimate deliveries to reduce the Foxes to 9-3.
The Pears' leading wicket-tacker, Tom Taylor, was also on fine form, claiming two dismissals as the visitors were limited to 28-5.
From then on it was the Waite Show at the crease, with the fast-medium bowler taking a flurry of wickets, including Ben Cox for a 50, to finish up with a personal best haul of 5-21 as the Foxes were dismissed for 168 in the final over.
Following the clash, Hose said: "It’s been a really tough couple of weeks.
"We had a really good win at Durham in the four-day stuff but other than that it’s been a tough time for everyone in and around the squad.
"To show the courage and bravery we did tonight and put on a good show was excellent.
"I know it got a bit tight there but everyone should take a lot of confidence from that win."
He added: "When things aren’t quite going your way, you maybe start searching for things and we know T20 cricket is very volatile as a format and it almost elevates that feeling and makes it 10 times worse than it actually is.
"Realistically you are never too far away from getting things right."
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