WORCESTERSHIRE Rapids completed their first victory of the season in the NatWest T20 Blast by defeating Notts Outlaws by 13 runs at Trent Bridge.

The home side had been set to score 209 for their fourth consecutive win but found themselves pegged back after an aggressive start and could only post 195-5.

Riki Wessels made 49 and Alex Hales scored 44 in the chase but John Hastings proved to be an effective match-winner for the Rapids, taking 3-31.

Earlier 60 from Joe Clarke and a punishing sixth-wicket partnership of 60 in just 4.2 overs helped push Rapids up to 208-8 after being asked to bat first.

Clarke scored his runs from only 27 deliveries and hit seven fours and three sixes to get the visitors off to a flying start which took them past 50 inside just four overs.

After Notts had fought back strongly Ross Whiteley and Mitchell Santner took it away from them again with some destructive hitting.

Whiteley, who hit six sixes in an over against Yorkshire on Sunday, cleared the ropes on five occasions in making 42 from just 16 balls.

New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner also showed his big-hitting prowess with three maximums of his own in making 35 from 20 balls.

Santner clubbed one of his rope-clearing blows off fellow countryman Ish Sodhi, who took 2-41 including the prized scalp of Whiteley as he skewed the leg-spinner to point.

Jake Ball had earlier removed Clarke and then added some lustre to his final figures of 3-34 by removing both Santner and Joe Leach as the innings drew to a close.

In contrast Harry Gurney came in for some punishment and conceded five sixes as he finished with an analysis of 0-57, the most expensive in the county’s T20 history.

Notts had never chased down a target as large as 208 before but enjoyed an explosive powerplay to set them on track, rattling up 76-0.

Hales scored 50 of them, reaching the landmark in just 22 balls with 12 fours – seven of them coming from eight consecutive deliveries by Jack Shantry.

With the game moving decisively away from Rapids they were given a lifeline when Hales went after Brett D’Oliveira but failed to clear Ed Barnard on the deep mid-wicket fence with the score on 92.

When Brendan Taylor found 18-year-old debutant Pat Brown on the mid-wicket fence off Daryl Mitchell for 25 Notts still needed 80 from 46 balls.

Outlaws captain Dan Christian made only two, hoisting fellow Australian Hastings down to Clarke at long leg.

The required run-rate rose to more than 13 an over with 66 needed from the last five and home chances dipped further as Samit Patel became Hastings’ second victim, pulling to mid-wicket for 10.

On 44 Wessels reached 4,000 runs in T20 cricket but he perished shortly afterwards and despite Tom Moores and Steven Mullaney throwing the bat in the closing overs the damage had already been done.

The loss was the first sustained at home by Outlaws since May last year, a run of seven wins and two abandonments, which leaves them on six points from as many matches in this campaign while Rapids’ win lifted them up to three points.

Rapids head to Northamptonshire Steelbacks tomorrow looking for a quick second win (6.30pm).