Birmingham Bears 135 for 9 (Davies 42, Hain 38, Singh 3-18, Dwarshuis 3-32) beat Worcestershire Rapids 134 (Mousley 4-19) by one wicket*
Mousley’s Spin Magic Rattles Rapids’ Line-Up
In a high-tension local derby at Edgbaston, Birmingham Bears edged past Worcestershire Rapids by just one wicket in a low-scoring thriller in the Vitality Blast. Dan Mousley turned in a match-defining performance with the ball, taking a career-best 4 for 19 as Worcestershire collapsed to 134 all out in just 18.4 overs.
The Bears’ spin trio — Mousley, Danny Briggs (2 for 20), and Jake Lintott (2 for 27) — dominated the innings, leaving Worcestershire without a single batter scoring more than 30. The collapse began swiftly after the Rapids’ explosive start of 39 off 21 balls.
Seventeen-year-old Isaac Mohammed showed promise with a stylish six over long-off against Ed Barnard but was soon bowled after missing a full toss.
“𝑯𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉,” 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Rapids Collapse After Aggressive Start
Jake Libby’s mistimed shot and Kashif Ali’s misjudged pull added to the chaos. Adam Hose briefly revived hope with four boundaries, but his dismissal to Mousley reignited the downfall. Briggs later reached a milestone with his 300th T20 wicket, claiming Ethan Brookes.
Ben Dwarshuis gave a late spark, smashing Lintott for three sixes in a row. However, his aggression ended with a mistimed shot to long-off. The Rapids’ final batters added only 15 runs before Jacob Duffy holed out, capping a poor batting display.
Bears’ Chase Turns Dramatic
In response, Birmingham stumbled to 135 for 9, barely scraping over the line with three balls to spare. Skipper Alex Davies gave them a flying start, hammering 42 runs with aggressive intent. His 34 runs in boundaries helped the Bears maintain control early.
Davies’ dismissal to Singh began the Bears’ own version of a collapse.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉, “𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅.”
Singh and Dwarshuis Lead Fightback
Mousley fell soon after Davies, and further wickets — including Moeen Ali and Ed Barnard — gave Rapids momentum. Fateh Singh struck twice in two balls to reduce Birmingham to 86 for 6, injecting life into a faltering defense.
But Sam Hain, ever the dependable finisher, anchored the innings with a calm 38 not out, ably supported by George Garton and Jake Lintott.
Hain Finishes It Off Despite Final Over Tension
With 21 needed from 18 balls, Hasan Ali added a quickfire 10 before falling. That left three required in the final over, with Hain on strike. He and Lintott kept cool heads, sealing the win under pressure.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒏, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒏. “𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕.”
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