Glamorgan’s unbeaten run away from home in the NatWest T20 Blast came to an abrupt end at the Ageas Bowl as Hampshire won by eight wickets with all the dismissals in the contest falling to the spinners .
Since losing their quarter-final match against Lancashire at Old Trafford in August 2014, Glamorgan had won 13 of their 16 away games in the competition where a result has been possible. Glamorgan’s most recent defeat away from home was here at The Ageas Bowl on July 14th last summer so Jacques Rudolph and his team were eager to erase this memory, especially as a sixth away win of the summer – their best-ever tally in 20 overs cricket – would have gone a long way towards clinching a place in the last eight of the all-action competition.
The Welsh county made one change to their line-up for tonight’s contest from the side that won at The Kia Oval last Friday evening with Nick Selman replacing David Miller who is back in South Africa for their A team series against their counterparts from India, and it was Selman who opened the batting with Aneurin Donald as Rudolph moved back to the number four slot. Liam Dawson opened the bowling and, with his third ball, he bowled Donald with just a single on the board.
Colin Ingram was swiftly into his stride as he drove Gareth Berg over long-on for six with blow into the wall of the adjoining hotel putting the ball out of shape and forcing the umpires to send for a replacement. He then flicked the bowler to fine-leg for four before being caught at long-on by Chris Wood as he tried to drill Dawson for six.
15/2 saw Rudolph join Selman and he started with flowing cover-drives for four against Dawson and Chris Wood whilst Selman worked the ball around for singles plus a sweep for three against Mason Crane. But the leg-spinner gained revenge with the total on 46 as he bowled Selman.
Chris Cooke joined Rudolph as it became an all-spin attack with Shahid Afridi operating at the Hilton End. But it was Crane who made further inroads as in successive deliveries he caused Cooke to miscue a drive to extra-cover before next ball he had Rudolph stumped by rookie wicket-keeper Calvin Dickinson.
56/5 saw Graham Wagg and Craig Meschede join forces, but after adding nine runs, the latter became the second man to be stumped by Dickinson as the all-rounder went down the wicket to Afridi. The last four overs saw the seamers return as Andrew Salter and Wagg took the total towards three figures with the latter glancing Kyle Abbott for four before flaying a brace of one’s and two’s. Salter then hooked Wood for successive fours in the final over before driving Wood over long-on for a massive six as Glamorgan ended on 118/6 with Salter on a career-best 37*.
Ingram opened the bowling with James Vince cover-driving his third delivery for four but the leg-spinner had Dickinson l.b.w with the final ball. Having been joined by Tom Alsop, Vince clipped Michael Hogan’s first ball to fine-leg for four before square-driving Ingram through extra-cover and then to wide mid-on for another well-timed boundary.
Salter then joined the attack in the fourth over and saw Alsop drill his first two balls to long-on for four before Vince sent the last through the covers for another boundary. The home captain then turned his attention to Marchant de Lange who he straight drove and pulled for successive fours as Hampshire raced to 50 in the fifth over. Vince celebrated by unleashing a furious cover-drive later in the over before Alsop on-drove Lukas Carey for four as Hampshire ended the powerplays on 63/1.
Alsop greeted the return of Ingram by sweeping him for four before Vince did the same to Salter as he deftly cut him through point. But with the total on 76 Ingram had Alsop caught at long-off by De Lange, with George Bailey joining his captain and reverse-sweeping his first ball for four, before doing the same next over to Salter.
A single against de Lange saw Vince complete his fifty from 32 balls as together with Bailey he quietly manoeuvred the ball around with Wagg in left-arm spin mode. The contest then ended in the 14th over as Bailey biffed Hogan for four over extra cover as Hampshire won by eight wickets.