Worcester Rapids’ head coach has given his reaction after the side failed to progress to the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast.

The Rapids finished fifth in the North Group of the T20 competition after back-to-back defeats on the final weekend of the group stage.

Defeat at Edgebaston on Friday to Birmingham Bears preceded a trip to Leicestershire on Sunday, where a Josh Inglis century gave the Foxes the win.

Head coach Alex Gidman was understandably upset to see his side fall at the final hurdle.

Gidman said: “A lot of emotion at the moment. Clearly disappointing, but disappointed for the players and our supporters.

“I thought we batted really well to get back into it against Leicestershire and put up a competitive score that we thought was about par.

“We knew we had to bowl well, but that was an exceptional innings from Josh Inglis, and this is the beauty of the game, that one guy can bat magnificently like that and win the game single-handedly.”

The Rapids finished the season with six wins, six defeats and a single tie.

At home, Worcester claimed wins over Birmingham Bears and Lancashire Lightning as well as drawing with Notts Outlaws, all of whom qualified for the next round.

Gidman added: “It has been a tough campaign for all teams, extremely competitive.

“We’ve played some outstanding cricket and taken some very good teams down, but equally, we slipped up a couple of times which has cost us.

“We can’t complain. We just missed out. The four powerhouses from our group have gone through. We couldn’t quite match them and get over the line and nudge one of them out.

“It’s been a significant improvement from last year when we had a poor campaign and plenty more improvement and work to do.”

It was also a season of fine individual performances with fast-bowler Dillon Pennington and all-rounder Brett D’Oliveira both impressing.

Gidman said: “Dillon has been exceptional. His job in this format of the game is not particularly easy, but the thing that stands out about Dillon is that he has got really good players out.

“Brett has had a great campaign, he has been outstanding, and there have been other very good contributions as well.

On overseas duo Ish Sodhi and Ben Dwarshuis, Gidman added: “First and foremost, they have been outstanding guys to have around.

“They have been brilliant off the pitch, and on the pitch can’t fault their effort and attitude.”