BIRMINGHAM Bears completed a derby double over Worcestershire Rapids before suffering defeat in their next outing in the T20 Blast.
The Bears secured a 23-run victory against local rivals Worcestershire at New Road only to then slip to a 64-run defeat against Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Edgbaston.
The results mean Birmingham sit fourth in the T20 Blast North Group standings.
Worcestershire won the toss and elected to bowl as the Rapids claimed the wickets of Bears openers Tom Latham (1) and Alex Davies (19) inside four overs.
However, the Bears recovered from 24-2 to reach 87-3 as Dan Mousley (31) and Sam Hain (44) combined for a 63-run third-wicket stand.
The returning Jacob Bethell (6) lasted just four balls before Ed Barnard (23) and George Garton (36 not out) helped Birmingham reach 176 all out.
In reply, the Rapids lost captain Brett D’Oliveira (1) in the fourth over as Hasan Ali (3-32) claimed his first scalp of the match.
And Ali also accounted for Isaac Mohammed (25) before Gareth Roderick (30) and Adam Hose (51) lifted the Rapids from 29-2 to 78-3.
However, Ali caught Roderick off the bowling of Danny Briggs (3-37) as the wickets began to tumble.
The Rapids slumped from 78-3 to 109-6 as Briggs claimed the crucial scalp of Ben Dwarshuis (13).
Craig Miles (2-22) chipped in with two wickets while Ali trapped Hose LBW as the Bears bowled out the Rapids for 153 in the final over.
The Bears then suffered a 64-run defeat against Northants at Edgbaston.
Northants won the toss and elected to bat as the visitors piled on the runs.
Openers Ricardo Vasconcelos (56) and Matthew Breetzke (85) both recorded half-centuries before captain David Willey (54) also passed the 50-run mark.
The Northants openers put on 94 runs for the first wicket with the visitors on 189-2 by the time Breetzke fell at the end of the 15th over.
Northants closed on 240-6 to leave the Bears in pursuit of a mammoth target.
Birmingham struggled to keep up with the required run rate as openers Davies (26) and Latham (25) helped the hosts reach 87-3 at the end of the eighth over.
A 29-ball half-century from Hain (50) proved in vain while Briggs (32 not out) added useful runs with the Bears all out for 176.
Birmingham Bears are next in action against Derbyshire Falcons on Friday, July 18 with the game to start at 6.30pm at the County Ground.
