The Essex Eagles will be Glamorgan's opponents in their penultimate group stage match in the NatWest T20 Blast as the team at the top of the South Division meets the side in fourth place at the SWALEC Stadium on Friday, July 18th in a match scheduled to get underway at 6.30pm (Gates open - 5pm).
Match Preview
This is an important match for both sides as they press for places in the last eight of the competition. The Eagles, who have already secured a place in the quarter-finals, lead the Southern Division on 18 points whilst Glamorgan have slipped back to fourth place with 13 points after their defeat by the Sussex Sharks on Tuesday evening under the floodlights at Hove, and the victory on Wednesday night by Surrey over Somerset by three wickets
Surrey now have 14 points and with a superior run rate they have leapfrogged into second place spot with Hampshire now in third place. Both Essex and Surrey have games in hand over Glamorgan whilst Hampshire's remaining games are with the Sussex Sharks and also the Essex Eagles in the final group match next Friday night at Chelmsford. In contrast, Surrey play Gloucestershire this Friday at Cheltenham before matches next week against Middlesex and the Kent Spitfires.
The top two in the group are guaranteed a lucrative home quarter-final, and with a further three matches to play after their game on Friday night at Cardiff - against Gloucestershire, Hampshire and the Sussex Sharks - the Eagles appear to be in pole position to secure one of the home ties which are up for grabs in the South Division having further extended their unbeaten run to a seven-match sequence following last Saturday afternoon's win at Colchester where a century from Tom Westley helped the Eagles to a 63-run victory over the Kent Spitfires.
Essex have also won both of their previous Twenty20 contests at Glamorgan's headquarters, with the English county winning by nine wickets in June 2010 after their bowlers had restricted the Welsh outfit to a meagre 94/9 in their 20 overs. The home batsmen faired better the following summer at the SWALEC Stadium with Chris Cooke striking a trio of sixes as he top-scored with 34 off eighteen balls in Glamorgan's total of 141/7. But his doughty efforts were trumped by Owais Shah who struck 60 and steered the visitor's to victory off the penultimate ball of the game.
The two sides met earlier this season at Chelmsford, with the Eagles winning by four wickets with two balls in hand, despite 63 from Jacques Rudolph and 68 by Jim Allenby.
Team News
Glamorgan have added Graham Wagg to their party who were on duty on Tuesday night against the Sussex Sharks at Hove. The 14-man Glamorgan squad for the match against the Essex Eagles is - J Allenby (capt), JA Rudolph, MA Wallace (wk), SJ Walters, MW Goodwin, CB Cooke, BJ Wright, TJ Lancefield, GG Wagg, AG Salter, DA Cosker, KA Bull, WT Owen and MG Hogan.