Half-centuries by Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry plus some disciplined bowling saw Hampshire defeat Glamorgan by six runs in their NatWest T20 Blast match at the SWALEC Stadium.
With Graham Wagg having a side strain, the Welsh county made one change to their line-up with Will Owen replacing the left-armer from the side which lost last Friday evening against Surrey at the SWALEC Stadium. Glamorgan invited the visitors to bat first with Jim Allenby opening the bowling and conceding just three singles before Michael Hogan yielded just two singles from the second over. Michael Carberry then biffed Allenby to long-on for four followed two balls later by a massive lofted drive for six high over the River Stand.
Carberry then played a short-arm jab against Darren Sammy to the ropes at mid-wicket before doing the same to Hogan as the ball thudded into the sightscreen for another six. James Vince then found the ropes at mid-wicket before drilling the next ball from Hogan into Owen's hands at mid-off. Carberry then drove Salter for six to long-off, four through extra cover and six over long-on as the fifty came up after 34 balls.
Jimmy Adams also pulled Owen for six before Carberry hit Salter inside-out over cover for four en route to a 34-ball fifty. Adams then swept Cosker for four before Carberry drove him straight for six. Later in the over, Adams pulled him for four and six to maintain the helter-skelter tempo before Sammy - bowling at times off almost 24 yards - conceded just four singles as they reached 96 at the halfway point.
Owen then ended Carberry's innings as he drilled the ball to Stewart Walters at long-on with Glenn Maxwell replacing the opener. Adams though maintained the pace clipping Owen for four to fine-leg before straight driving Cosker for successive sixes. He lost though Maxwell next over as Walters at long-on took a fine diving catch to give Salter a wicket in the 14
th over with the visitor's on 124/3.
Adams then completed his fifty from 26 balls before being bowled by Owen with Adam Wheater and Sean Ervine joining forces with five overs remaining. The latter clubbed Sammy for four to mid-wicket before Hogan pouched a huge skier off his own bowling to end Ervine's innings and conceded just a couple of runs in his third over. Wheater then became another victim for Walters as he held a lofted drive against Sammy as the Hampshire innings stuttered again before a dozen runs came from the final over.
Allenby and Jacques Rudolph began Glamorgan's reply with a flurry of singles against Smith and Chris Wood until the Glamorgan Twenty20 captain under-edged a drive against the latter which sped to fine-leg for four followed by bludgeoned drives to wide long-on and mid-off from successive deliveries. Rudolph was then dropped by wicket-keeper Wheater who was standing up to Wood but it didn't prove costly as two balls later he was bowled.
Wallace joined Allenby with Glamorgan on 27/1 after four overs before Hampshire's bowlers delivered ten dot balls in two overs before Allenby straight drove Matt Coles for four. But Danny Briggs then joined the attack and ended Allenby's innings as he edged into Wheater's gloves. With Walters as his new partner, Wallace twice pulled Smith for four but these boundaries proved few and far between as Glamorgan reached 59/2 at the halfway stage needing 112 from the last ten overs.
Wallace responded by mowing Briggs to mid-wicket for four before Walters hit in the same direction for another four. Wallace also lofted Ervine high for six over the mid-wicket boundary before clubbing him over square-leg for a second six before being bowled by Ervine as Chris Cooke joined Walters as the equation became 84 from eight overs, and then 78 from seven after another tight over from the spin of Smith.
Two wickets fell in the space of four deliveries as Walters perished in the deep as Coles returned with Wood running round at wide long-on pouching the skied drive before Ben Wright was caught behind. 75 were needed from 38 balls as Sammy made his way to the middle. Cooke cover drove Briggs for four before a series of singles reduced the target to 66 from 30 balls.
A skied forearm smash by Sammy against Coles brought two more runs before he unleashed a fierce off-drive and an equally powerful pull to secure two fours as the target became 53 from 24 balls. Cooke maintained the momentum by driving Wood for successive fours to long-on and deep mid-wicket, followed by a huge six over long-on as the target became swiftly reduced to 36 off 18 balls.
The pair then scrambled three singles from Abbott before Sammy drilled him straight for a pair of sixes as Glamorgan entered the last two overs needing 19 to win but Sammy lofted Wood into Adams' hands at long-off. Salter and Cooke then struck five singles against Wood, leaving them requiring fourteen from the last over bowled by Abbott.
Salter struck the first ball to long-on for one before Cooke did the same to mid-wicket, before a scampered bye got Cooke on strike with 11 needed. But Abbott held his nerve as the pair garnered just four runs to leave Hampshire the victors by six runs.