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Worcestershire, who at one time had visions of 200-plus, were hauled back within striking range at 172 for 9. At 88 for 3 from 10.5, despite solid contributions from Adam Lyth and Dawid Malan, the game was still in doubt, but Brook and Joe Root, who astutely batted in his shadow, added 87 in 7.2 overs.Yorkshire were grateful to field a Blast XI as strong as this, even with the absence of Jonny Bairstow and David Willey on IPL duty. The presence of two England call-ups, Root and Brook, was just as it should be in the Blast, within reason; Shadab Khan was on debut; and, perhaps most hearteningly of all, Tom Kohler-Cadmore was making his first appearance of the season after a concussion suffered in pre-season.It was watched by a moderate crowd – 6,000 at most – a somewhat worrying sign for the Blast as it seeks a successful existence alongside its mouthier (and cheaper) offspring, the Hundred. Yorkshire also have their own stumbling block: six home games out of the first seven, all packed into a fortnight, and this during a cost-of-living crisis, a staggeringly incompetent fixture list which should cause those responsible to squirm with embarrassment.Jack Haynes hits inside-out over wide mid-off•PA Images/Getty

Worcestershire’s chief resistance came from Brett D’Oliveira and Jack Haynes, one-time teammates at Ombersley. On an excellent batting surface, they took 70 from the powerplay and were 123 for 3 in 12 overs by the time both had departed, but they subsided tamely, suffering for the absences of their overseas duo Colin Munro and Dwayne Bravo and their captain Moeen Ali. Haynes, a player of considerable promise, has logged his first three first-class hundreds in as many weeks this season and his buoyancy could enable him to float happily through the Blast group stages.Worcestershire lost Ed Pollock early, hacking at Dom Bess, but they found momentum not just in the shape of Haynes, but also D’Oliveira. Twenty-two off the fifth over, Jordan Thompson’s first, beginning with a midwicket pull and ending with two straight hits, saw him immediately withdrawn from the attack. Root brought himself on for an over, but it was a captain’s gambit he regretted as Haynes twice deposited him over long-off in an over that cost 20. It was with relief that Root’s last ball saw the end of D’Oliveira as he drove his last ball to point (32 from 16).There was work to do for Yorkshire and the middle overs were in the hands of the spin partnership that they hope will bring them sustenance this season, Adil Rashid and Shadab (the best spin combo at Headingley since Rashid and Azeem Rafiq, and as everybody knows there hangs a tale or two).Shadab looked in trim, whereas Rashid began rustily, having had no meaningful cricket since the end of January in Bridgetown, and generally looked dissatisfied with his rhythm, but still somehow emerged with 0 for 30 from four. Yorkshire still hope he will relax his white-ball stance and play an occasional red-ball game and, on this evidence, it would benefit all parties.With no wickets from either spinner, Worcestershire held the upper hand but they declined the moment that Haynes swung Matthew Revis to deep midwicket. Haynes and D’Oliveira had gone down the ground with ease, but what followed was largely a collection of nudges and half-hits. Revis’ only two previous T20 matches had been ones of supreme inactivity, but he has had a decent Championship season and the wicket of Haynes was a good way to start. Thompson, milked earlier, returned bullishly, with two late wickets.