grow from it. We know weve got to prepare for the best offensive

Worcestershire Rapids won their third NatWest T20 Blast game in three, beating Yorkshire Vikings by seven wickets at New Road. Liam Plunkett put in an impressive all-round effort for the visitors, striking 34 not out off just 10 balls before taking 2-29 from his four overs, but it wasnt enough for the Vikings who have now lost their opening two fixtures in the North Group.Joe Leach took 3-33 for the Rapids to help reduce Yorkshire to 112-6 in the 18th over before Plunketts big-hitting efforts at the death - assisted by Tim Bresnan (29no off 13 balls) - helped set a testing 174-run target. But with a solid platform of 109-3 set at the 12-over mark, Alexei Kervezee (52no off 37) and Brett DOliveira (34no off 20) put on 66 together to take Worcestershire home with five balls to spare.Yorkshire won the toss and chose to bat first but lost David Willey (6) - bowled by Ed Barnard - and Adil Rashid (1) run out early.Captain Alex Lees (46 off 36) seemed to have steadied the ship, but fell four short of fifty, while Jack Leaning (24 off 25) and Gary Ballance (24 off 23) couldnt capitalise on solid starts.Leach removed both, bowling Ballance, and dismissed Will Rhodes (3) in the same manner soon after. Liam Plunkett impressed with both bat and ball in defeat for Yorkshire That brought Plunkett and Bresnan together and they smacked a staggering 61 from the final three overs to lift Yorkshire to a score of 173-6.It wouldnt be enough though, despite two Plunkett strikes with the ball this time - Daryl Mitchell (29 off 17) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (19 off 18).Adil Rashid (1-39) picked up a further wicket, Joe Clarke falling after an enterprising 34 off 23 balls, but Kervezee and DOliveiras partnership took the home side comfortably through to their target.Gloucestershire squeaked to a four-wicket win over Middlesex with just a ball to spare in their South Group clash in Northwood. Gareth Roderick helped Gloucestershire over the line with two last-over boundaries Chasing 160 to win and still needing seven to win from the final three balls, Gareth Roderick (11no off 3) fired a four and a six to win it for the visitors.Paul Stirling had earlier struck 60 off 43 balls - with five fours and three sixes - and Adam Voges (52 off 40) too fired fifty to help Middlesex post 159-9 from their 20 overs.Gloucestershire appeared to be cruising along with Ian Cockbain (40 off 28) and Chris Dent (45 off 40) putting on 65 for the third wicket. A couple of late wickets put the game back in the balance, only for Roderick to fire the visitors to victory.Hampshire got the better of Kent in the other South Group match on the night, winning by nine runs at the Ageas Bowl. Shahid Afridi celebrates the key wicket of Kents Daniel Bell-Drummond as Hampshire win Michael Carberry hit 54 from 53 balls for the hosts but struggled for support elsewhere, as Matt Coles took 4-27. But overseas signings Shahid Afridi (21 off 14) and Darren Sammy (27 off 15) provided some useful lower-order hitting to propel the hosts up to 158-8 from their 20 overs.Daniel Bell-Drummond cracked 64 from 51 balls at the top of the order for Kent, but suffered a similar problem to Carberry before him, with only his opening partner, Joe Denly (31 off 27), offering support and scoring more than 18.Afridi impressed taking 3-33 - including the key wicket of Bell-Drummond in the 17th over - to back up his earlier efforts with the bat, as Kent crumbled to 149 all out in the final over.Watch reigning T20 Blast champions Lancashire Lightning take on winless Yorkshire Vikings in the Roses clash at Old Trafford, live on Sky Sports 2 from 6pm on Friday. Also See: Worcs v Yorks scorecard Middlesex v Gloucs scorecard Hampshire v Kent scorecard Live cricket on Sky Retro Jordan 5 Cheap . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Jordan 5 For Sale Cheap .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. http://www.wholesaleairjordan5.com/ . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Wholesale Jordan 5 . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Wholesale Air Jordan 5 . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. INDIANAPOLIS -- Opposites will attract lots of attention Saturday afternoon when No. 9 Indiana and No. 18 Butler clash in the sixth-annual Crossroads Classic in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.Indiana (8-1) loves its high-powered offense, which leads the Big Ten Conference at 87.6 points per game. The Hoosiers will be bolstered by the return of sophomore OG Anunoby (12.5 points), who has missed three consecutive games with an ankle injury suffered in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge victory against North Carolina.The high-scoring Hoosiers are led by guard James Blackmon, Jr. (16.9 points), Robert Johnson (13.1) and Thomas Bryant (11.9 points, 8.4 rebounds). Indiana enters with a five-game winning streak since losing in overtime at Fort Wayne.The Hoosiers are 3-2 in Crossroads Classic games, including 1-1 against Butler, and its an event Indiana coach Tom Crean enjoys.Its a great environment and always well run, Crean said this week. We enjoy playing there. But with this team, I still dont think we have the connectedness on the floor with the stuff that goes with playing together.Sometimes that shows up in turnovers. That will take a little time to get there. Our ability to play hard and with grit is expanding all the time.Crean is eager to see how Indiana will perform coming off a week of final exams.We must stay sharp, Crean said. I think we will get energy by our guys seeing that we are improving.While the Hoosiers love a high-scoring game, Butler coach Chris Holtmanns team (9-1) relies on a stifling defense that allows only 62 points and holds opponents to 41.5 percent field goal shooting. Butlers defense was especially good in this past Saturdayys victory against Cincinnati.ddddddddddddI think our guys just took it upon themselves to not give them anything easy and try to keep them off the glass, Holtmann said. Weve said it over and over that we just have to continue to improve on that end.If were going to have any kind of successful year, were going to have to consistently be good on that end. We were at times (against Cincinnati). Hopefully, we can grow from it. We know weve got to prepare for the best offensive team in the country (Indiana).While Indiana relies on its guard play and Bryants powerful inside game, Butler, 10-3 all-time in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, counters with a trio of hard-working forwards -- Andrew Chrabascz (11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds), Kelan Martin (17.7 points) and Nate Fowler (4.9 points).At 6-10, Fowler could play a big role in helping Butler contain Bryant as the Bulldogs try to improve to 5-1 in the Crossroads Classic. Fowler had a solid game against Cincinnati, making 4 of 5 field goal attempts, finishing with nine points and four rebounds.I thought he was tremendous, Holtmann said. In some ways, weve been begging him if you are open to shoot it. Nate is one of those guys where he just wants the team to win. He wants to do whatever the team needs to do to win.Sometimes you have to encourage him to be a little more aggressive. I thought our guys did a great job of finding him at critical moments in the second half and he did a good job rebounding, which has not always been his strength. I thought his play was critical. ' ' '