WORCESTERSHIRE Rapids recovered from early strife with the ball before Riki Wessels hit 91 as Yorkshire Vikings were brushed aside by five wickets with 15 balls to spare at Emerald Headingley.

Vikings lost their third game in six and will rue not making the most of being 104-0 in the 12th over.

Their 177-7 looked competitive but they should have been closer to 200 after openers Adam Lyth (68) and ex-County batsman Tom Kohler-Cadmore (40) laid the platform with a century partnership having elected to bat.

In reply, Rapids opener Wessels made the chase towards a fourth win from six North Group games look a routine one with 10 fours and five sixes in 51 balls.

Wessels said: “It’s always nice to get an away win. They’re especially important in this competition.

“The previous Friday we had a poor game against Lancashire but this week we’ve come back quite nicely with a couple of wins.

“It’s important you realise what you’ve done wrong quite quickly and try to correct those mistakes. We did that and have played two pretty decent games.

“We probably weren’t at our best with the ball but we tidied it up well.

“At one stage it looked like they could have been close to 200 with wickets in hand. So to drag it back to what we did gave us a good chance of chasing it down.

“It was not the most aggressive power play from us but with one short side (towards the East Stand of Headingley) it was quite easy to target certain balls and the rate never gets too far away from you.”

Lyth top-scored and hit four sixes in 48 balls, sharing 104 for the first wicket with Kohler-Cadmore who hit two sixes.

They shared their second century opening stand of this season’s Blast and took the visitors’ seamers to task on an excellent Headingley surface.

Lyth hit successive sixes off Wayne Parnell and Pat Brown in the second and fourth overs en-route to a 32-ball fifty.

He was particularly strong square on both sides of the wicket, while Kohler-Cadmore was more measured.

He hit nicely on the up down the ground and over cover.

But they were two of seven wickets to fall inside the last nine overs of an innings which damagingly fell away.

Both fell caught at deep mid-wicket off the off-spin of George Rhodes.

That Rhodes (2-12) only bowled two overs was a surprise, especially with none of Rapids' five seamers going at less than eight an over.

They were the only two overs of spin in the innings. But in fairness their seamers did hit back with effect.

Dillon Pennington removed Harry Brook and David Willey in the 16th over, leaving the score at 140-4, just when they were looking to launch. And Brown also struck twice at the death.

Rapids, who now have nine points in second place in the North and are only a point behind unbeaten group leaders Lancashire, made a bright start to their chase as Wessels took the lead role.

When Martin Guptill top-edged a short ball from Duanne Olivier to short fine leg, they were 28-1 in the fourth and on the way to a power play score of 47-1 after six overs. Wessels had 26 of them.

In the next over, bowled by returning Vikings captain Steve Patterson after a five-game rest, Wessels launched sixes over long-off and long leg as 20 runs came off the over.

Wessels reached his second 50 of this season’s Blast off 32 balls but not before he lost Callum Ferguson (26) caught at backward point off Lyth’s off-spin as the score fell to 93-2 in the 10th.

He was particularly strong hitting to leg.

When he fell in the 15th over, caught at long-on off Dom Bess’ off-spin, the damage had been done with the score at 152-3 and only 26 more needed.

Olivier and David Willey claimed the consolatory wickets of Parnell (27) and Ross Whiteley late on.

Rapids host Leicestershire Foxes on Sunday at Blackfinch New Road (2.30pm).