Sussex Sharks 333-9 (50 overs)
Worcestershire Rapids 334-6 (48.2 overs)
Worcestershire (4 points) beat Sussex (0 points) by four wickets
A third century in as many innings by Worcestershire Rapids captain Jake Libby guided his side to victory over Sussex Sharks and kept alive their chances of progressing in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.
Their victory, with 10 balls to spare, was built on a fourth-wicket partnership of 118 in 15 overs between Libby (109 not out) and Kashif Ali (73) and was their fourth in six matches while Sussex have now lost five of their six outings.
The impressive left-hander Isaac Mohammed and Brett D’Oliveira had put on 60 for the first wicket in 11 overs before D’Oliveira skied Jack Carson to Ollie Robinson at long-on.
Isaac was second out at 83 when he top-edged to midwicket and Sussex were on top when Rehaan Edavalath, sweeping, had his off stump knocked by Carson, making 105-3 in the 20th.
But Libby and Kashif turned the match, targeting 19-year-old seamer Freddie Price, who conceded 20 in the 33rd over to bring up the Worcestershire 200 and the 100 partnership.
Sussex hit back with the wickets of Kashif and the gifted Henry Cullen but Libby remained to see his side home with the big-hitting Ben Allison, who struck 20 off nine balls.
At one point, Sussex looked capable of reaching 350. Haines and Charlie Tear got the Sharks off to a flyer after the Rapids had won the toss and chosen to bowl although Haines on nine was missed at first slip off Ben Allsison.
Both men drove fluently to bring up the fifty from 54 balls and at the end of the 10-over powerplay they had shared 13 boundaries in a score of 66.
Worcestershire broke through in the 11th over when Tear, who had scored a run-a-ball 30, clipped Ben Gibbon to midwicket where Isaac took a good low catch.
Four overs later his opening partner fell, Haines playing a flat-footed drive and edging Gibbon to the keeper for a 48-ball 40.
George Thomas and Oli Carter then put on 40 for the third wicket in six overs. But not for the first time this season, the Sharks were struggling to find a top-order batter capable of playing a definitive innings.
Carter had made just 22 from 24 balls when he spooned a gentle catch to mid-on. Thomas hit three fours and the first six of the day when he hit left-arm spinner Fateh Singh back over his head. But then he was yorked by the clever leg-spinner D’Oliveira for 39.
Simpson hit a 28-ball 30 but when he was fifth out at 198, failing to clear long-on with his lofted drive, it brought in Hudson-Prentice to play the star innings for his side.
He found the boundary on both sides of the wicket and making it difficult for Rapids captain Jake Libby to set a field.
With Jack Leaning (50) sheet-anchoring the innings, much as he had done in the previous game at Arundel, the Sharks were able to set a challenging total.
Libby said: “We thought it would need something quite special to chase it, but we got off to a fantastic start in the powerplay and then the partnership between Kash and me – Kash in particular – took it through the gears.
“It was always going to take something like that to get the runs. It was nice to get another hundred. I feel in a good place with my batting.
“We felt it was a must-win game. If we can win in Cardiff on Sunday, it will put us in a really strong place. As reigning champions, we want to give it a really good defence and we feel we’re doing that.”
Carson said: “We knew we had a good total but it wasn’t out of the realms of chasing.
“Fynn (Hudson-Prentice) was awesome for us. He turned it from a 300 total into a 330 with his high skills.
“We just lacked that one big knock, somebody getting a hundred, to bat through. Jake Libby has been in fantastic form for them and he played very well.
“We’ve got to turn up again on Sunday. It’s a tight turnaround. We’ve got to have a think about things between now and then and get stuck in and get on the front foot.”
