A last-ball defeat is fuelling fresh motivation for the games ahead, says Sikandar Raza.
Worcestershire Rapids’ all-rounder said their narrow Vitality Blast loss to Gloucestershire on Sunday would serve as a wake-up call ahead of Tuesday evening’s tough away clash with Northants Steelbacks.
Raza said: "From our point of view, that is a game that hurts.
"We felt they were below par, 160/170 looked like par, and the way they started it looked like they would get there, but the way the boys pulled it back was so impressive.
"We only conceded maybe two boundaries in the last five overs, and cricket is a big momentum game, which I felt we had at halfway, but we just weren’t able to utilise it in the powerplay."
Raza played a pivotal role on Sunday, taking 1-19 to help restrict Gloucestershire to 148-8 and then leading a batting recovery with 47 from 31 balls, lifting the Rapids from 28-4 in the chase.
He and Adam Hose put on 59 for the fifth wicket, but his dismissal in the 14th over swung momentum back to the hosts, who ultimately edged the match by two runs.
Raza said the result came down to missed opportunities at the crease.
He said: "I think the guys that got set, which includes myself to start with, probably cost us this game for the team.
"There was maybe only one partnership between Adam and me, maybe between Rodders and me further down, but there wasn’t enough around that."
With Adam Finch and Tom Taylor needing eight from the final over, the Rapids fell just short and now face the group leaders Northants Steelbacks on Tuesday evening.
Worcestershire were heavily beaten by them earlier in the campaign, losing by 100 runs.
Tuesday night comes ahead of the Blast break period next weekend, with the race for the top two automatic qualification places hotting up.
Raza, set to face off against his former side, sees the fixture as a chance for the team to test themselves against the best.
He said: "The onus is now on us to put up a good performance against Northants on Tuesday.
"We spoke about our ambitions in the tournament, that we wanted to qualify and we want to win the championship, so it doesn’t really matter which team you play if that is the case.
"If we want to test ourselves, then these are the sorts of games that tell you exactly where you stand or how far you are from the top teams."
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