Worcestershire: One-Day Cup result will not define Pears, says coach Alan Richardson

Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson said his side would not have been defined by this season’s One-Day Cup final regardless of the result.

As it turned out, the Pears beat Hampshire in a thrilling finale to win their first piece of silverware since 2018 and their first List A trophy for 31 years.

A combination of a Henry Cullen hook shot and Kyle Abbott treading on the boundary rope as he took the catch handed Worcestershire the match-winning runs with two balls of the rain-affected game remaining.

For Richardson, though, the whole tournament proved how well his squad had performed.

“I said before the game, it wouldn’t have defined us whether we’d won or lost,” he told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

“We’d played some amazing cricket in this tournament. We played nine games up to the final and won seven, and if it hadn’t gone our way, I’d have been equally proud to have been part of it.

“You don’t win many trophies in your career – there’s only three going so for them to have played in that final, to experience that occasion and to come out on the winning side was just really special.”