THE thrills and spills of Twenty20 Cup cricket proved a massive hit at New Road last night when Worcestershire Royals clinched a nail-biting one wicket win over Northamptonshire Steelbacks.

An excited crowd of more than 4,000 saw the County hammer their way to victory with just two balls to spare.

New Road chief executive Mark Newton was 'absolutely delighted' by the public's response to the new revolutionary competition.

He regarded it as a 'great moment for the club' and said: "Again it shows we may be one of the smaller counties but was can make cricket work.

"More importantly it indicates that people want to see this type of cricket.

"It will herald a change in the perception and the way cricket is played and structured in future years, I've got no doubt about it.

"We budgeted for 2,000 spectators - members and public - and we got just over 4,000.

"We easily doubled what we budgeted to take on the day and in one night we have beaten our income from three Benson and Hedges Cup games last year.

"That again justifies the decision to go this route. From a business point of view it's fantastic."

The sun-blessed excitement began as soon as Northants won the toss and decided to bat.

By the time they had completed their 20 hectic overs they had made 150-9 and smashed a total of 15 fours and four sixes. Their top scorer was opener Michael Hussey, whose 67 contained six fours and one six. Paceman Chris Lipton was the County's most productive bowler with 3-32.

When they batted, Worcestershire smashed a total of 18 fours and two sixes on their way to making 151-9.

New recruit David Taylor, who earlier had held two smart catches, led the way with 46 off 20 balls and was named man-of-the-match. He clubbed one six and nine fours.

Stephen Moore also chipped in with a crucial unbeaten 39 while Gareth Batty made 29.