Allenby takes ten wickets in the match but Hampshire win by 291 runs

After almost six months of four-day, 50 overs and 20 overs matches, plus many nights in hotels and numerous miles on the nation's motorway network, Hampshire were hoping that today would be the day when the destiny of the Division Two promotion race as well as the title itself was decided. At Chelmsford, leaders Worcestershire began this morning 243 runs in arrears against third-placed Essex with just eight second innings wickets remaining whilst here at the SWALEC Stadium, second-placed Hampshire went into the third day of their contest against Glamorgan having already amassed a formidable lead of 360 runs. A Hampshire victory today and a defeat for Worcestershire would mean that the South Coast county are promoted as champions of the second division, alongside the New Road club.


Last night there was plenty of chatter after play about the timing of Hampshire's declaration. A minority of doom-mongers suggested that they already had enough, but the consensus amongst the Glamorgan cognoscenti was that a Hampshire declaration either just before, or after, lunch was on the cards with the home batsmen needing to bat for around five sessions to become party-poopers at The Ageas Bowl.


Hampshire, who yesterday had opted not to enforce the follow-on and instead rest up their bowlers, duly began the day on 175/3 as Michael Hogan and Jim Allenby resumed the bowling with each bowler, like several of their colleagues, having personal landmarks looming. Hogan required three wickets to reach the century-mark in all forms of the game this year whilst Allenby required one more to reach 50 first-class wickets for the season. The all-rounder was also one of several players approaching the 1,000 run mark, with Jim requiring a further 44 runs, and Will Bragg 17. Jacques Rudolph - who received his Glamorgan cap before the start of play - was also 36 runs short of having amassed 2,000 runs in all formats this summer, whilst Mark Wallace was 32 runs shy of the career landmark of 10,000 runs in all first-class cricket.


James Vince struck the day's first boundary as he square-cut Allenby before Tom Alsop edged the all-rounder through the slip cordon for four, but two overs later Allenby claimed his 50^th first-class wicket of the summer as he bowled Alsop. 196/4 saw Adam Wheater arrive at the crease on a pair, but he avoided this as he clipped Hogan to fine-leg. Another boundary through the covers by the diminutive batsman saw the Hampshire lead pass 400, but in Allenby's next over he edged a wide delivery into Wallace's gloves.


222/5 immediately became 222/6 as Vince drove a ball from Hogan straight into Graham Wagg's hands at mid-off. Sean Ervine then edged an expansive drive over the head of the slip cordon, but with the total on 231, Allenby struck again as Chris Wood drove a ball into David Lloyd's hands at cover. Matt Coles duly came in and lofted Allenby for successive fours to long-off and long-on, before Ervine carved a pair of fours against Hogan. But Allenby then claimed his fifth wicket as Ervine miscued another expansive drive and was caught above his head by Hogan at long-on before in his next over he claimed his sixth wicket as Coles scythed a high catch to Rudolph at deep mid-wicket to complete career-best figures of 6/54 and to complete a ten-wicket match haul, whereupon Hampshire declared.

This left Glamorgan needing 444 in a minimum of 177 overs and Will Bragg was soon into his stride, clipping James Tomlinson for two leg-side fours whilst Rudolph unfurled a regal off-drive for four against Coles. Bragg then survived a chance in the gully before cover-driving and on-driving Coles for four as he became Glamorgan's first batsman to reach 1,000 first-class runs this season. But next ball Tomlinson claimed the vital wicket of Rudolph who departed l.b.w., and then to the next delivery, Wallace edged to Vince at third slip as Glamorgan, but after a flurry of singles 31/2 became 41/3 as Tomlinson trapped Cooke l.b.w..

Glamorgan took to the field after lunch on 54/3 with Jim Allenby having struck three successive fours in James Tomlinson's final over before lunch as he moved within 32 runs of emulating his partner Will Bragg's achievement of reaching 1,000 first-class runs this season. Tomlinson duly resumed the bowling and with the sixth ball of the afternoon he gained his fourth wicket as Bragg departed l.b.w.


His afternoon work though was not over as 54/4 became 56/5 as David Lloyd shouldered arms next over and also departed leg before as the ball - in the overcast conditions - capriciously swung back in. Nye Donald began confidently pushing his first ball for a single into the covers, and then clipping Coles to mid-wicket for two, followed by a cover drive for four.

But Tomlinson continued his almost one-man demolition job of Glamorgan's batting as Jim Allenby gloved a sharply rising delivery from the former Cardiff University student into the wicket-keeper's gloves as the Welsh county's demise continued as Graham Wagg arrived in the middle with his side on 63/6. He responded by driving the left-armer to the boards at mid-on followed by a scythed drive through point.


Donald then unleashed a Maynard-esque upper-cut for four to a rising delivery from Coles as news filtered through from Chelmsford that Worcestershire had lost, meaning that Hampshire were four wickets away from clinching the Division Two title. But Wagg despatched Coles through the covers for four before chopping Coles onto his stumps with Glamorgan on 86/7.


Dean Cosker announced his arrival by cover-driving Tomlinson who then took a well-deserved breather with figures of 6/48 from his eleven overs. Chris Wood duly replaced him and found the edge of Cosker's bat, only for the ball to bisect third slip and gully and speed away for four. Cosker then lofted the left-armer straight for four before Imran Tahir entered the attack at the River End. But the leg-spinner was harpooned for four by Donald, followed by a lofted straight six by the seventeen year-old.


This prompted a few wags to say that the end was not Nye!, but in the next over, Cosker hooked a short ball from Wood and was well caught by Tom Alsop on the boundary's edge at deep square-leg. With Glamorgan on 113/8 Donald continued his youthful exhuberance, twice clipping Wood through mid-wicket and swatting another short delivery over mid-off's head. He then flayed another delivery to mid-wicket before lofting Tahir over long-off for six to complete a 52-ball fifty.

He celebrated by pulling Wood for another four but in trying to repeat the stroke he miscued a ball to fine-leg where Tahir held a good running catch, and next over the Pakistani ended the game and clinched the title as he bowled Bull, with Glamorgan all out for 152 and a victory for Jimmy Adams' side by 291 runs