Glamorgan clinched a quarter-final place in the NatWest T20 Blast as they defeated Somerset by seven wickets at The SSE SWALEC with Colin Ingram taking 3/20 and then hitting 54 from 37 balls as Glamorgan won with a dozen balls to spare.
Despite having lost their past two games – against Gloucestershire and Hampshire - Glamorgan start the match in second place in the group table with a total of 15 points, knowing that two more points from a victory tonight would clinch a berth in the last eight of the competition. Glamorgan who chose the same eleven which lost last week at The Ageas Bowl against Hampshire opted once again the chase
Michael Hogan took the new ball and nearly had a wicket with the first delivery as Mahela Jayawardene upper cut the ball over the head of slip and first bounce into the hands of Timm van der Gugten at third man. The Sri Lankan then scythed both Hogan and the Dutchman through point before flicking van der Gugten for six over backward square-leg. But next ball he swatted the delivery to point where Aneurin Donald completed the regulation catch.
Jim Allenby and Peter Trego then scampered a series of singles, but in attempting a run to backward point, Allenby was sent back but failed to regain his ground as an arrow-like throw from Andrew Salter hit the stumps directly as Somerset slipped to 23/3 in the third over. Johan Myburgh announced his arrival by drilling Graham Wagg over long-off for six and then to long-on for four.
Trego greeted Shaun Tait by cutting his first ball for four to the point boundary but the second delivery re-arranged his stumps as Somerset. 48/3 nearly became 49/3 as James Hildreth edged in and out of the gloves of a diving Mark Wallace. Hildreth then drove van der Gugten to long-on before Myburgh pulled successive balls from Tait to the mid-wicket ropes. But he perished later in the over as he skewed a drive to David Lloyd at backward point.
Hildreth then cut Craig Meschede for four and six but Colin Ingram then bowled Roelof van der Merwe as Somerset reached 90/5 at the halfway stage. Lewis Gregory then cover drove Jacques Rudolph when the captain entered the attack in tandem with Ingram, who then claimed a second scalp as Wallace stumped Gregory who jaywalked down the wicket. 112/6 then became 122/7 as two balls later Ingram dived to his left to pouch a miscued drive by Ryan Davies.
After a series of one’s and two’s Hildreth then swatted Wagg to deep mid-wicket where Donald safely pouched the ball. Josh Davey also swatted the left-armer to long-on for four but Max Waller was less fortunate as Tait caught a scooped shot at short fine-leg before a fine pick-up and throw by van der Gugten ran out Paul van Meeran in the final over as Somerset were dismissed for 152.
Wallace and Lloyd began Glamorgan’s reply with the former hooking van Meekeran for four before Lloyd under-edged a drive against the tall Dutchman through the slips for his first boundary. Wallace also cover drove and pulled three successive balls from van Meekeran for a brace of fours. But next ball Wallace skied another drive and was caught at point.
33/1 saw Ingram join Lloyd and he began by pulling Davey for a huge six over mid-wicket before Lloyd straight-drove and pulled van Meekeran for a trio of fours as Glamorgan reached 53/1 at the end of the powerplays. Ingram then pulled Davey for four before Waller’s leg-spin was introduced and he duly bowled Lloyd with his fourth ball. Ingram was joined by Donald who began by steering van der Merwe through point for four as Glamorgan reached 76/2 at the halfway stage.
Ingram greeted the return of Gregory by cover-driving and swatting the all-rounder to point for a pair of fours followed by a massive harpoon for six over mid-wicket when van der Merwe changed ends. Ingram then guided Davey to third man for another well-placed four whilst Donald pulled and swept Waller for four and six to mid-wicket as the equation became 32 off 36 balls.
Ingram then drilled van Meerkeran for four to long off to complete a 32-ball fifty before Donald played an impish ramp stroke for four against Trego. The target had been reduced to 14 when Ingram miscued Trego to mid-off. Rudolph then joined Donald who clubbed van der Merwe for four followed by a cheeky reverse-sweep for four before the captain struck the winnings runs as he clubbed van der Merwe for four to mid-wicket.