Worcestershire Claim Midlands Crown Thanks to Usama Mir

Batting: Mir smashed 32 off 16 balls at the death, including 2 sixes and a four off Hasan Ali and Jake Lintott. Role: Came in at 105/6, added late fireworks to give Worcestershire hope. Context: Making his Rapids debut as short-term cover for Mitchell Santner. The Bears were restricted to a modest 141 all out from 19.5 overs as only Rob Yates (45 from 31 balls) and Jordan Thompson (37 off 31) reached 20 against an attack of collective accuracy, led by Usama Mir and Tom Taylor (2-17). The Rapid then eased to 142 for 4 with seven balls to spare as the top four all passed 20 and Kashif Ali went on to deliver the required match-clinching contribution with 36 off 30. The headline refers to the Midlands derby between Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Even though Warwickshire won this game, Mir’s 32 off 16 and earlier 3/21 vs Northamptonshire in the opener made him the key player in Worcestershire’s 2023 T20 Blast campaign. Yates hit the first six of the day, from the 61st ball, over long-on off Mir, but at 99 for 5 with six overs left the Bears needed a late rally. Instead, the excellent Mir harvested his third wicket when Yates fell to a fine diving catch by his former team-mate Ethan Brookes at point. Chris Woakes lifted Taylor to cover and it was left to Thompson to biff his team closer to respectability with two sixes off Finch before he missed a full toss and was lbw. Mir topped Worcestershire’s batting and bowling averages in 2023 and helped them reach the Blast quarter-finals. Took 19 wickets at 16.89, economy 7.29 that season. Worcestershire have now signed him to a 3-year T20 deal from 2026, when he’ll qualify as homegrown from 2027. Hose pulled Woakes to deep midwicket but the Rapids entered the last five overs needing just 29 with seven wickets intact and Sikandar Raza and Brookes saw the job through with comfort to the delight of most of a large, exuberant crowd. Bottom line: Usama Mir’s explosive 32 off 16 and earlier 3-fors made him Worcestershire’s standout in Midlands derbies during 2023, even if Warwickshire edged this particular game by 21 runs.