Glamorgan welcome Somerset to Sophia Gardens for their next contest in the Vitality Blast on Wednesday, 21 June starting at 1830. (writes Andrew Hignell)
After their 81-run defeat on Tuesday evening against Surrey at The Oval, the Glamorgan squad return west along the M4 to meet Somerset, another team at the top of the group table. As the list below of the last six games between the two teams at Cardiff in T20 cricket shows, Somerset have been victorious on their last five visits to Sophia Gardens with Glamorgan’s most recent win over the West Country side at home coming on 22 July 2016 when they won by 7 wickets:
15 July 2017- No Result
22 July 2018 - Somerset won by 30 runs
18 July 2019 - Somerset won by 8 wickets
16 Sept 2020 - Somerset won by 66 runs
16 July 2021 – Somerset won by 74 runs
24 June 2022 - Somerset won by 16 runs
Somerset won a rain-affected game in 2022 with the contest reduced to just seven overs per side. Their previous two visits had seen more emphatic victories by 74 runs in 2021 and in 2020 by 66 runs after a sublime and unbeaten century by Babar Azam.
In 2019 half-centuries for Glamorgan by David Lloyd and Colin Ingram were trumped by Tom Banton’s explosive 64 from 34 balls before the England international miscued a pull against Andrew Salter and holed out at deep mid-wicket. Thoughts of a Glamorgan rally were then erased by a stand of 69 from 48 balls by Peter Trego and James Hildreth as Somerset reached their target with two overs remaining.
In 2018 a boundary-laden stand of 97 in 8.1 overs between Corey Anderson and James Hildreth helped Somerset recover from slipping to 59-4 after eight overs, with Timm van der Gugten claiming a trio of wickets. Their efforts duly proved to be a match-winning one as Glamorgan failed in their pursuit of a target of 191 to win.
However, Glamorgan were victorious in 2016 when Somerset visited Sophia Gardens with the Welsh county winning by seven wickets after Colin Ingram had taken 3/20 with his canny leg-breaks, whilst Graham Wagg and Shaun Tait each claimed a couple of cheap wickets apiece, before Ingram made an accomplished fifty to see his side to victory.