Glamorgan were involved in another last ball thriller at the SWALEC Stadium as with three runs needed by the Kent Spitfires from the final over from Michael Hogan, two wickets tumbled before Doug Bollinger was run out off the sixth ball as the contest in the NatWest T20 Blast ended in a dramatic tie - the first-ever for the Welsh county in Twenty20 cricket.
The Welsh county made one change to their line-up which met Gloucestershire on Sunday at Bristol with Andrew Salter replacing Will Owen, but the usual pairing of Jim Allenby and Jacques Rudolph opened the innings as the Welsh county looked for their first-ever victory in Twenty20 cricket against the English side. Darren Stevens who began with a wicket maiden in the previous match again opened the bowling and yet again claimed an early scalp as Rudolph miscued a drive into Doug Bollinger's hands at mid-off with just a couple of runs on the board.
Mark Wallace came in at number three and began with a lofted cover drive for four, followed by by a pull for four against Bollinger. Allenby then despatched Claydon in the air over mid-off before three balls later biffing him through cover point and again mid-off for a pair of rasping boundaries off successive balls. He then turned his attention to Bollinger cutting him through point for four.
Wallace also added a cheeky ramp stroke to long-leg for three before Allenby again drilled Bollinger through point for four. The boundaries continued to flow as Wallace struck David Griffiths' first two deliveries for four to extra cover and six over long-on to see Glamorgan to 50 in the sixth over. To the next legitimate delivery, Wallace was dropped at cover by Rob Key, much to the bowler's chagrin, Allenby then greeted James Tredwell by planting the spinner's first delivery into the Grandstand before Wallace had another life as Sam Northeast spilled a skier running in from the mid-wicket boundary.
Wallace celebrated his good fortune by reverse-sweeping the spinner for four but in the next over bowled by Adam Ball he harpooned the ball into Alex Blake's hands on the mid-wicket ropes. 78/2 saw Murray Goodwin join Allenby but after a boundary from the latter, the former was caught for a single in the deep as Cooke made his way to the middle with the total on 86 after nine overs.
Allenby duly completed his fifty from 32 balls with another blow square on the off-side before Darren Stevens fumbled a hard caught and bowled chance from Cooke. The pair then collected single before Allenby miscued another lofted shot into Ball's hands at deep mid-wicket and departed for 54 from 37 balls as Stevens completed figures of 3/22.
Ben Wright joined forces with Cooke who got the scoreboard moving again with a lofted straight drive for four in Ball's final over. Wright then deftly swatted Claydon to long-leg for six but next over he did the same to Tredwell but straight to short fine-leg. His departure on 133/5 saw the arrival of Darren Sammy and after a series of singles, Cooke twice clipped Claydon to long-leg for a pair of fours.
Sammy then struck a no-ball from Tredwell to long-on for six but later in the over Cooke lapped the spinner into the hands of short fine-leg before Bollinger bowled Wagg. Salter then joined Sammy for the final seven balls and after he edged a drive to third man, Sammy rounded off the innings by blasting a four through extra cover to leave Kent chasing 178 to win.
Daniel Bell-Drummond began by drilling Allenby's first ball through mid-on for four before lofting Michael Hogan over mid-on for another boundary, Rob Key then swatted the Australian for four to wide long-on. Bell-Drummond also despatched Wagg's first ball through backward point for four before Key drove him to long-off for four.
Sammy then struck with his second delivery as Bell-Drummond miscued another lusty drive and Wagg running back at cover pouched the skier. 34/1 saw Sam Northeast join his captain but it was a very brief stand as three balls later Key swatted the West Indian into the hands of Salter at short fine-leg. Alex Blake announced his arrival by cutting Hogan through point followed by a massive six over square-leg against Sammy.
But on 48 a razor-sharp piece of fielding by Dean Cosker at backward point ran out Sam northeast as Blake tried to sneak a single. Salter then entered the attack and was clubbed through mid-wicket for four by Blake but this was a rare boundary in a series of frugal overs in tandem with Allenby and Cosker, but the drought ended as Stevens pulled the left-armer over mid-wicket for six. But Cosker responded by clean bowling Blake as the Spitfires nosedived to 76/4 at the halfway stage.
Stevens responded by lofting Sammy into the Pavilion for six before hoisting Cosker to long-on for another maximum as the target became 81 from eight overs. Wagg returned and conceded just three singles before Stevens pulled Cosker for a massive six followed by a huge four over deep extra cover and just out of the grasp of Wright, before hoisting the spinner straight to complete a 29-ball fifty with his fifth six.
His fusillade reduced the equation to 59 from six overs and Sam Billings brought up the fifty stand next over by clipping Hogan to fine-leg for four. Sammy began his final over with a pair of dot balls before Stevens whacked him over backward square-leg for six followed by a short-arm jab over backward point for four as the target dropped to 37 from the last 24 balls and then 29 from 18 deliveries.
Stevens then harpooned Salter into Cooke's hands on the mid-wicket boundary, and departed for a belligerent 71 from 39. But Billings swatted the spinner for six and four as the target tumbled again to 13 from 12 balls, but he then drove Wagg into Allenby's hands at cover. After a single by Tredwell, Ball clubbed Wagg square for six over mid-wicket, as the Spitfires needed just three from the final over by Hogan.
After a dot ball, Hogan dismissed Ball l.b.w. before bowling Claydon. Bollinger then scrambled a single before Tredwell levelled the score with a single to cover. But Bollinger missed with a lusty swipe at the last delivery and as the batsman desperately tried to scramble a single. Mark Wallace's throw at the bowler's end was picked up by Rudolph who ran in and removed the bails to run out the Kent man to the delight of the crowd.