Warwickshire bounce back
Jim Troughton sweeps on his way to 58 which helped Warwickshire to a seven-wicket win over Worcestershire
Warwickshire rebounded from successive defeats and registered their first Twenty20 Cup victory of the season with a seven-wicket demolition of local rivals Worcestershire at Edgbaston.
Jim Troughton was finally on the winning side after compiling his third half-century in five days and Jonathan Trott weighed in with an unbeaten 53 as Warwickshire galloped to their target of 149 with 10 balls to spare.
Left hander Troughton, who also had four scores of 50 or more in this year’s Friends Provident Trophy, was bowled by Ashley Noffke for 58 - his best in the competition - after hitting six fours and six from 44 deliveries.
Neil Carter had given the home side a flying start with two sixes in a 10-ball dash to 20 before he failed to clear long-leg. Ben Smith took that catch but crucially dropped an earlier chance when Trott was on nine.
Warwickshire would have had even less to do but for Steven Davies making his first Twenty20 Cup half-century in Worcestershire’s struggle to 148 for eight.
The 22-year-old left hander, already an England player in the shorter format after a debut in the West Indies in March, added to his list of admirers with a polished performance in front of a crowd of nearly 10,000.
Davies’ contract runs out at the end of the season and Worcestershire have admitted they could face a battle to keep him at New Road.
They would have been in a sorry state without his clean striking in making 73 from 48 balls with the help of nine fours and a six into the pavilion off New Zealand spinner Jeetan Patel.
Daryl Mitchell, his partner in a fifth-wicket stand of 53, was the only other player to reach double figures after a much-improved bowling display by Warwickshire.
Former soccer professional Keith Barker dismissed Vikram Solanki with his first ball and had figures of 4-19 in four overs when he rejoined the attack and knocked back Davies’ leg stump.
Wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose held four consecutive catches - the best a dive to his right to take Smith’s thick edge off Barker - but Mitchell reached 35 from 31 balls before he was superbly caught by Troughton, running round the midwicket boundary.
Steve Davies survives a stumping chance en route to a superb 73 to keep Worcestershire in the game
