By Brian Halford

The enduring excellence of Sam Hain sparkled yet again as Birmingham Bears began their Vitality Blast campaign with a comfortable 34-run victory over Yorkshire Vikings at Edgbaston.
In the second half of the inaugural ‘Blast Off ’ double header, the Bears were lifted to an imposing 200-6 by a stand of 97 in 47 balls by Hain (83no in 46) and Chris Benjamin (46 in 28).
The Bears’ bowling attack then made light of the loss of Hassan Ali, who turned an ankle in the warm-ups. Chris Woakes struck twice in his first 11 balls as the Vikings dipped to 34 for five.

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