Glamorgan defeated Worcestershire by five wickets
On a day of rare indulgence by the batting fraternity at New Road, Stephen Moore scored a maiden one-day century and guided Worcestershire to their biggest league total in four years.
The 24-year-old played with proper care and attention for his 104 from 123 balls and yet it all went to waste when the county's bowlers buckled under retaliatory fire.
Glamorgan profited during rapid but erratic bowling by Shoaib Akhtar, then brought their target into view during a stand of 110 by Sourav Ganguly and Michael Powell, and finally completed their highest successful run-chase in the competition with an over to spare.
As recently as 2002, this would have been a top-of-the table fixture and even last year, when Worcestershire rebounded during a promotion campaign, Glamorgan won the Division One title for the second time in three seasons.
Now they are relatively ordinary one-day units and Worcestershire revealed their general inadequacy in slipping to a fourth successive league defeat, despite Moore's partnerships of 91 with Vikram Solanki, 76 with Graeme Hick and 89 with Zander de Bruyn.
Given that it is unusual for any side to score with such consistency in this format, it may seem churlish to focus on a one-paced tempo. Yet there was no obvious acceleration until the last eight overs yielded 71 runs.
Moore's rate for two fifties hardly shifted - 61 balls for the first, 56 for the second - and the team's hundreds varied by no more than two deliveries, 18.3 overs for the first and 18.1 overs for the next.
Solanki, returning from England duty for his first county appearance in six weeks, began almost sedately, but once reacquainted with the surroundings, he was dancing down the pitch to drive the seamers over mid-off.
Although each of Moore's partners outscored the opener, he gave the team a focal point and allowed the others to play around him. Solanki reached 55 before disappointingly spooning Ganguly's first ball to the tumbling David Harrison at mid-off and Hick gradually became more imposing in his highest league innings of the summer.
That it did not go beyond 42 was due to a breakdown in communication after Moore had taken a single from Harrison's fumble at short third man. Hick considered a second but was sent back and run out by some distance.
De Bruyn finished unbeaten on 54, taking only 39 balls for his fourth halfcentury in six league innings.
In reply, Glamorgan lost Robert Croft, leg-before in Kabir Ali's first over, but retaliated in a second-wicket stand of 60 in 11 overs. When Shoaib went off for a check-up on his ongoing calf strain, the less explosive seam bowling of David Leatherdale brought two wickets in quick succession. Dan Cherry steered a catch to slip and Alex Wharf, after a bruising knock of nine fours in his 38, missed a straight ball.
Back came Shoaib for two more overs but Powell's snick between wicketkeeper and slip brought the first of three consecutive fours and gave Glamorgan new belief. Ganguly hooked a Shoaib bouncer for four and drove two sixes off Gareth Batty before he was stumped for 53, charging at spinner Ray Price.
Powell carried on to 82 from 90 balls until Solanki brilliantly judged an over-theshoulder catch at mid-wicket off Kabir, but David Hemp added the finishing touches with a quick-fire 51 not out from 36 balls to win the match without the need for a final over by Shoaib. Perhaps he was not unduly dismayed after conceding 53 runs in his previous eight.
