Despite a feisty fifty from Graham Wagg ,Hampshire beat Glamorgan by 22 runs in their opening NatWest T20 Blast contest at The SSE SWALEC.
James Vince began with three successive fours in Marchant de Lange’s opening over, before adding three more in Timm van der Gugten’s first over. The boundaries kept coming as Rilee Rossouw bludgeoned Graham Wagg’s first two deliveries to the ropes at mid-wicket and third man, before Vince elegantly cover drove him for another four. Michael Hogan was then struck for a four by Roosouw after delivering a non-ball as Hampshire raced to 50, but he made amends later in the over as Vince was caught behind.
Michael Carberry joined Roussouw and also found the ropes as he square-drove van der Gugten, but with the total on 59, Hogan bowled Rossouw before de Lange had Carberry caught behind. Wagg and Andrew Salter maintained the dearth of boundaries as George Bailey and Sean Ervine were restricted to just singles. In a bid to break free Ervine then hoisted Salter to long-on where Hogan completed the catch with the visitors on 70/4.
Lewis McManus found the ropes courtesy of a thick outside edge in van der Gugten’s final over before Bailey cover drove Ingram for a more orthodox four through the covers as Hampshire reached the 100-mark in the 15th over. McManus celebrated by sweeping Ingram for six followed next ball by a six over long-on. He then drilled de Lange over mid-off for a third maximum before clipping him to the mid-wicket ropes.
McManus also lofted Hogan over mid-on for six before striking de Lange for a four and six to complete a 31-ball fifty, but he perished in the final over as he tried to wallop Wagg over extra-cover with Ingram completing a good diving catch. This left Glamorgan needing 168 to win and they lost two wickets in the opening over as David Lloyd departed to the first ball of the innings from Reece Topley as Ervine at slip took a juggling catch before Gareth Berg at cover made a fine diving catch to remove Ingram as he attempted to drill Topley for four.
Aneurin Donald, who had opened , then guided Kyle Abbott for four through backward point and extra cover, and after some swift singles with Jacques Rudolph, Donald off-drove Abbott again through extra-cover. Rudolph also nurdled his fellow countryman through the vacant slips for four but the introduction of Shahid Afridi’s spin saw the departure of Donald and Kiran Carlson in successive balls as the former was boled and the latter l.b.w.
44/4 then became 47/5 as Rudolph miscued a drive against Afridi into the covers as Wagg and Cooke joined forces. After a series of singles Wagg lofted the Pakistani into the River Stand for six before twice drilling Mason Crane back over his head for a pair of straight sixes. He then turned his attention to Abbott, upper-cutting him for four before deftly glancing him to fine-leg for four.
This left Glamorgan needing 63 off 36 balls but Cooke then lofted Afridi into the hands of mid-wicket. A pair of flowing drives saw Wagg complete his 50 off 27 balls before holing out at long-off as attempted another six against Crane. De Lange biffed Topley over mid-off for four before losing his middle stump next delivery. Some swiftly run one’s and two’s by Salter and van der Gugten reduced the equation to 36 from 12 balls, before the Dutchman blasted Topley for six over mid-wicket as the task became 27 off the last over from Berg. But Van der Gugten then holed out at long-on before yielding just four singles as Hampshire secured a 22-run victory.