A high-class 121 by Jacques Rudolph plus a fine performance with bat and ball by Colin Ingram saw Glamorgan defeat Gloucestershire by 18 runs under the DLS Method in their opening match in the Royal London One-Day Cup at Bristol.
“It’s Yesterday Once More”, the hit by 1970’s pop duo The Carpenters, would have been an appropriate choice of the musical accompaniments played at the various grounds around the country which are staging today, April 27th, the opening batch of matches in the one-day competition. From 1969, following the inauguration of the Sunday League, county teams regularly took part from late April in a variety of one-day games in the various List A tournaments with innings spanning 40, 45, 50 and 55 overs, whilst at times during the 1960s, some of the Gillette Cup matches were held in the last week of April with teams batting for a maximum of 60 or even 65 overs. For the past three years, the List A games have been staged much later during June, July, August and September, but 2017 has seen the switch back to the previous format for the 50 over contests.
With the threat of showers later this afternoon, Gloucestershire opted to bowl first this morning, and with chilly conditions prevailing, it felt more like a rugby match with both teams wearing hooped shirts. Matt Taylor and Liam Norwell shared the new ball with Gloucestershire looking more like the Cornish team in their black and yellow hoops, with Jacques Rudolph creaming the ball through mid-on in Taylor’s second over. Together with David Lloyd, the men in the blue and yellow hoops then accumulated mainly in singles before Rudolph unleashed another booming extra-cover drive against Taylor.
Shortly afterwards, Lloyd harpooned Norwell to the ropes at mid-wicket before Rudolph again cover-drove Taylor as he completed 10,000 list A runs. He celebrated by off-driving Norwell for four as the 50-stand came up in the 13th over. But with the total on 56 Lloyd departed l.b.w. to Benny Howell with Kiran Carlson – who made a fine century against Gloucestershire 2nd XI on Tuesday – joining Rudolph.
The teenager began by clipping Chris Liddle to the ropes at mid-wicket whilst Rudolph greeted the introduction of Jack Taylor’s spin by drilling him over extra-cover but in his second over, a mix-up in calling saw the spinner run out Carlson with Glamorgan on 85/2 in the 21st over as Colin Ingram made his way to the middle. He began by twice sweeping Taylor for four to fine-leg to take Glamorgan into three figures whilst Rudolph completed a 74-ball fifty by pulling a full toss from Taylor for six to mid-wicket.
A series of deftly placed singles then followed before Ingram savagely pulled Norwell for six after the opening bowler had returned to the attack. Rudolph swept Jack Taylor again when the off-spinner replaced Norwell, whilst the singles continued to come at the Ashley Down End when Matt Taylor returned. Rudolph then nurdled Taylor (J) for four before drilling Taylor (M) through the covers. Ingram also cut the latter for four before launching him over long-on for a massive six, but on 45 he was run out by Graeme van Buuren as he attempted a single to point.
Aneurin Donald opened his account by swatting Norwell to mid-wicket for four but with the total on 182 he was bowled by Jack Taylor as Chris Cooke became Rudolph’s new partner. The flurry of singles continued as Glamorgan entered the third and final powerplay on 193/4. Cooke had a life on 9 when he drove Chris Liddle to long-on where Norwell dropped the catch, before swatting Howell for four.
The bowler gained revenge with the total on 216 as he bowled Cooke whilst shortly afterwards Rudolph completed his elegant hundred – from 133 balls – by pulling Matt Taylor. Later in the over he celebrated by hitting the bowler inside-out over cover, before Craig Meschede also biffed him to mid-wicket. Rudolph then went into overdrive by swatting Howell through mid-wicket before clipping him for six behind square-leg whilst Meschede also used the long handle to club Taylor to wide long-on.
Another boundary came Rudolph’s way as he deftly upper-cut Taylor over the keeper’s head but after swatting another four, Meschede was bowled by Liddle. Later in the over, the bowler bowled Rudolph as he departed for 121 - the second highest score in List A cricket for Glamorgan against Gloucestershire beaten only by Jimmy Maher’s 142* at Bristol in 2001. In the final over Marchant de Lange swatted Taylor for a pair of fours and a huge straight six as Glamorgan ended on 277/7.
The fast bowler was soon back in action as he shared the new ball with Lukas Carey with Michael Klinger square-cutting Carey for four before Phil Mustard struck a trio of fours against de Lange as he hooked, on-drove and cover drove the paceman, but after Klinger had lofted Carey straight for four, three wickets fell in swift succession. De Lange firstly had Mustard caught behind attempting an expansive drive before 29/1 became 31/2 as Chris Dent edged to Ingram at first slip. Next over, and with just one more run added, Iain Cockbain inside-edged Carey onto his stumps.
After a sequence of fifteen dot balls, Klinger got the scoreboard moving as he cover-drove Meschede for four before a series of singles and a pair of cuts for four when Michael Hogan joined the attack. Van Buuren also opened his shoulders to swat Meschede to deep mid-wicket before almost edging Hogan to Ingram at slip who in the process of stopping the ball injured his hand and briefly departed for treatment.
Van Buuren greeted Andrew Salter’s spin by striking successive balls to extra-cover and fine-leg, before Klinger reached his fifty from 57 balls. The hundred then came up as van Buuren pulled Meschede for four followed by a late cut against Salter. Another savage square-cut by Klinger came in Lloyd’s first over as a curtain of rain also appeared to the north of the city as the fourth wicket pair continued to get Gloucestershire closer to the DLS par score. In a bid to quell their efforts, De Lange returned to the fray, but van Buuren upper-cut a ball for four as the precipitation intensified, forcing the players off the field with Gloucestershire ten behind on the par score.
Two overs were lost with the revised target being 270 to win in the 48 overs game. Hogan and Carey returned to the attack as van Buuran completed his fifty from 66 balls, but after two further overs, the rain fell again with the home side on 139/3 and five runs behind on the par score. Four further overs were lost and when play resumed at 5.40pm Gloucestershire needed a further 112 from 14 overs to win.
Meschede and Ingram resumed the bowling with Klinger square-cutting the latter for four, but next ball, Ingram made the perfect riposte as he trapped Klinger l.b.w. Jack Taylor joined van Buuren, but one run later the latter departed in identical fashion to Ingram as Glamorgan surged back into the contest. Howell and Taylor were restricted to singles as Rudolph shrewdly juggled his bowling options, and he gained rewards for his actions as Howell, in a bid to up the tempo miscued Meschede into the captain’s hands at mid-off.
Taylor responded by swatting a full toss from Hogan for six over square-leg followed later in the over by another maximum over long-on as the equation dipped to 64 off the last six overs. Tom Smith reverse-swept Ingram for four as the task became 51 from 24 balls. Taylor responded by flat-batting Hogan over extra cover for four followed by a six to deep mid-wicket as 32 were needed for 12 balls.
Taylor flat-batted de Lange to long-off to reach his fifty from 34 balls but only six runs having come from five balls in the penultimate over Taylor was smartly run out by Cooke as, having missed the ball, he tried to run a bye and keep the strike. Ingram then ended the contest with the final delivery as he bowled Norwell as Gloucestershire ended on 232/8 to give Glamorgan victory by 18 runs under the DLS Method.