LAST TIME OUT: 2021 VITALITY BLAST EDITION

The fixtures for this year's Vitality Blast are now confirmed, with big matches against Gloucestershire and Somerset bookending the home group stages. With a few opponents not seen for a few years, take a look back at the last time each side faced off in the Vitality Blast as we look ahead to the summer of 2021...

With the 2020 edition of the Blast going regional, and the fixture list varying , it may have been a while since we faced off against some of our South Group opponents - take a trip down recent memory lane and see how we fared against our rivals.

(To see the scorecard from any game referenced, click on the italicised date and result at the top of a section.)

Essex

Home - Aug 9 2019 - No Result

Home - Aug 7 2018 - Glam win by 6 runs

Glamorgan's home clash against the Eagles was eventually a no result due to rain - Essex's 30/1 from four overs the only action available during a rainy couple of weeks in the UK.

Their 2018 visit to Sophia Gardens was a lot more dramatic with Glamorgan taking home the win by six runs. Ingram's 89 from 47, and a quick fire partnership between Wagg (53*) and Smith (22*) took Glamorgan to 198/7. Timm van der Gugten's 2/33 from his allocated four overs were the best figures for Glamorgan, as Ravi Bopara's late surge wasn't enough to grab victory for the visitors.

Away - Jul 13 2018 - Glam win 2 wickets

Essex's 'Rain Watch' was two hours of painful YouTube viewing for cricket fans, with the game never getting close to a start and Glamorgan suffering a second abandonment in three days as part of a relentless road trip from Canterbury, to Chelsmford, to Colwyn Bay and back to Cardiff. The trip from south Wales to 'Fortress Chelmsford' was a far more exciting occasion in 2018 with Chris Cooke playing one of the knocks of his career.

Glamorgan looked dead and buried at 110/8, but a partnership off 61 from 26 balls between Cooke (who finished 40* from 29 balls) and Timm van der Gugten (9 not out from 8 deliveries) took Glamorgan to the brink of victory. A final over that contained two wides (and a cheeky single from a particularly wide off-side delivery) ended with Cooke just clearing mid-wicket for a four off the bowling of Wagner. Hogan's 2/22 from four overs had earlier helped restrict Essex to 167 all out from their 20 overs.

Gloucestershire

Home - Sep 18 2020 - Glam win 17 runs

Glamorgan did the double over eventual group winners Gloucestershire, with victory at Sophia Gardens featuring a handy performance from Andy Balbirnie as the Irish skipper hit 99* as Glamorgan posted 188/4. Dan Douthwaite hit two fours in the final over and Balbirnie could only scamper a single from the final ball as he hit a career-best score. 

Three wickets for Graham Wagg and Timm van der Gugten prevented the visitors building momentum and the result never seemed in doubt as the Bristol-based outfit finished on 171/6.

Away - Aug 29 2020 - Glam win by 15 runs

Glamorgan's first match of the 2020 Vitality Blast (that wasn't rained off) was a low-scoring affair, as Chris Cooke's 51 from 35 looking like it was played on a different pitch. 150 seemed a reasonable score, but Glamorgan's spin twins of Prem Sisodiya (4-1-12-0) and Andrew Salter (4-0-20-4) demonstrated their potential as a potent pairing as they combined to great effect. A maiden in the opening over for Sisodiya and a wicket first ball for Salter set the tone, with the opening ten overs of the innings bowled by spinners and Gloucestershire were left struggling at 40/5 from 9.1 overs. Some lower order hitting helped lift the hosts but they were always behind the rate and eventually were dismissed for 135 on the final ball of the innings.

Hampshire

Home - Aug 30 2019 - Glam win by 28 runs

Glamorgan's 2019 campaign wasn't a memorable one, but they saved the best until last as they recorded their highest ever total at home in amassing 216/5. Selman (33 from 19), Ingram (44 from 23), Lloyd (40 from 17) and Cooke (45 from 23) launched into the visitor's attack, with Chris Wood taking particular stick in the final over as Cooke launched him for 46664 before falling on the final ball of the innings.

Vince got the visitors off to a fast start, but three wickets for Roman Walker and two for Marchant de Lange pegged them back and Glam cruised home by 28 runs to finish the 2019 Vitality Blast on a high.

Away - Aug 2 2019 - Hants win by 41 runs

Away - Jul 6 2018 - Glam win by 63 runs

The trip to the Ageas Bowl saw Glamorgan encounter another 'sticky wicket' as Fakhar Zaman's 1/15 from 4 overs demonstrating the properties of the pitch. Hampshire's 128/7 seemed around par, but the deteriorating wicket played into the hosts' hands as Mason Crane (3/22) and Liam Dawson (3/11 from 3.3) rolled Glamorgan out for a disappointing 87.

Glamorgan opened their 2018 campaign with a dominant win in Southampton, with a series of scores throughout the middle order helping the visitors from Wales to 168/6, before Hampshire dramatically collapsed to 32/7. Salter took three wickets, Wagg and Ingram two apiece, and Hogan and TvdG combined for 5-1-17-2 as Hampshire were never in the running, finishing on 105 all out.

Kent

Home - Jun 17 2016 - Glam win by 55 runs (D/L)

Glamorgan’s recent Blast history with Kent is pretty heavily rain affected, with the most recent home and away fixtures washed away without a ball being bowled.

The last time the boys from Canterbury finished a Blast game in Cardiff was back in 2016, with David Lloyd taking the headlines as he struck a remarkable 97* from just 49 balls, hitting 10 fours and clearing the rope a further four times. Colin Ingram added 60 from 29 deliveries in a partnership worth 132 from just 9.3 overs. Glamorgan's 175/4 from their allocated 16 overs (it wouldn't be a Kent game without rain, apparently) proved too much as Kent crumbled to 121 all out with a ball to spare. Dale Steyn's 4/18 (4) led the way for Glamorgan and TvdG (2/18 from 3) and Hogan (3/12 from 2.5) provided excellent support in a dominant victory at Sophia Gardens.

Away - Jul 30 2017 - Glam win by 25 runs

Glamorgan's last trip to the South East that saw any action was back in 2017, with Jacques Rudolph's 77 leading Glam to a formidable 199/2 from the 20 overs. Donald (50) and Miller (43) added support in solid cameos, before miserly stuff from Marchant de Lange, Andrew Salter, and Craig Meschede prevented Kent from building any momentum as the hosts finished on 174/4.

Middlesex

Home - Jul 26 2019 - Middlesex win by eight wickets

Home - Aug 18 2017 - Glam win by seven wickets

Glamorgan's home fixture against the lads from Lord's was not a happy one, as they were on the receiving end of a second hat-trick in consecutive games (although the circumstances were quite different) as Roland-Jones snapped up batsmen 9, 10 and 7 to bowl Glamorgan out for 136 and claim career-best figures of 5/21. Eskinazi and Malan helped their side cruise home with 16 balls and eight wickets to spare.

Middlesex's 2017 trip to Sophia Gardens saw them post 99/8 in their 14 overs, with three wickets each for Marchant de Lange and Michael Hogan, before a solid team effort got Glamorgan over the line at 100/3 with an over to spare.

Away - Aug 5 2018 - Glam win by seven wickets

The trip to Richmond in 2018 was one to remember for Ruaidhri Smith as he celebrated his 24th birthday with incredible figures of 4-1-6-4, the second most economical four-over spell in Blast history. Dismissing Gubbins, Eskinazi, Morgan, and Stirling in consecutive overs, Smith smashed through a formidable middle order as he demonstrated pace and control on a small ground. Middlesex recovered to 131 but 46* from Ingram, 40 from Carlson and 22* from Cooke took Glamorgan to their target in just 12.5 overs.

Somerset

Home - Sep 16 2020 - Somerset win by 66 runs

Home - Jul 22 2016 - Glamorgan win by seven wickets

Somerset did the double over Glamorgan in 2020, with Babar Azam scoring a classy century at Sophia Gardens as he almost single-handedly carried his side to 183/3, before Roelof van der Merwe and the Somerset attack tore through Glamorgan to bowl the hosts out for 117.

Glamorgan's 2016 home clash was the last time the Welsh defeated their Taunton rivals at home, dominating the game from start to finish as the visitors finished 152 all out, with Ingram's 4-1-20-3 the pick of the figures. The South African followed up his work with the ball for a rapid half-century as Glamorgan cantered home with seven wickets and twelve balls to spare, in front of the TV cameras, to move a step closer to a home quarter-final.

Away - Sep 1 2020 - Somerset win by eight wickets

Away - Aug 13 2017 - Glamorgan win by one run

In the reverse fixture at Taunton, Glamorgan struggled to 133/8 as pace off the ball and mixing it up proved key, thanks to van der Merwe (0/13) , Josh Davey (2/17), and Ben Green's medium pacers (4/26) strangled the visitors. Tom Abell looked like he was playing on a different pitch as his 74* took Somerset to an easy victory.

The last time Glamorgan defeated Somerset at Taunton, Nick Selman's 66 helped his side to 183/6, and with Somerset needing eight for victory off the final over, Marchant de Lange conceded just six as the hosts finished on 182/6 in a dramatic affair in the West Country.

Surrey

Home - Aug 11 2019 - Surrey win by seven wickets

Home - Jun 24 2016 - Glamorgan win by nine wickets

Surrey's trip to a soggy Sophia Gardens on a Sunday saw them take victory as they chased down Glamorgan's 152/7 with an over and seven wickets to spare. Ingram's 41 and Wagg's 36 off 17 were the backbone of hosts' efforts but the spin of Tahir (2/31), Batty (1/26) and Clark's cutters (1/25) restricted the Welsh county. Ruaidhri Smith returned to action in dramatic style in his first game of the 2019 season as he took 3/21, including Australia white-ball captain Aaron Finch for a second-ball duck, but a late burst by Surrey's England wicket-keepers Pope (28* off 17) and Foakes (29* off 16) helped them over the line.

Surrey's last defeat in Cardiff came in 2016, with Surrey collapsing to 110 all out, before 40* for Jacques Rudolph and 73* for Colin Ingram carrying Glamorgan home by nine wickets and 25 balls to spare.

Away - Jul 25 2019 - Surrey win by 97 runs

Away - Jul 31 2018 - Glamorgan win by four wickets

Glamorgan's visit to The Oval in 2019 was one to forget, as a brilliant effort in the field to restrict Surrey to 141 all out off the final ball was quickly forgotten. Tom Curran's hat-trick of Lloyd, Ingram, and Root tore through the Glamorgan top order and they never recovered, eventually posting a tournament low of 44...

So we'll rewind 12 months to a better time in the capital as Glamorgan, missing Ingram with illness and overseas player Joe Burns through a back injury, completed a remarkable chase on the Sky Sports cameras.

Nic Maddinson's 70 from 45 was at the core of the hosts' 194/4, but 43 from 19 for Craig Meschede, including three consecutive sixes against Gareth Batty (and five in his innings) gave Glamorgan hope. Carlson slammed a 90mph bouncer from Pillans high into the Bedser Stand on his way to 58 from 32 deliveries. 46 not out for Graham Wagg helped Glamorgan home with an over to spare.

Sussex

Home - Aug 26 2019 - Sussex win by seven wickets

Home - Jul 7 2016 - Glamorgan win by 46 runs

Sussex did the double over Glamorgan in 2019, with Glamorgan's 174/4 not enough against the visitors' star-studded side. Shaun Marsh hit 52 off 50, with Ingram's 50 from 30 and Selman's 40 from 23 providing the impetus to carry the hosts' to a respectable total. Alex Carey hit 61 from 30, with quickfire knocks from Welshman Phil Salt, Laurie Evans, Delray Rawlins and David Wiese easing Sussex over the line with seven wickets and 19 balls to spare.

Glamorgan's last win over Sussex at Sophia Gardens came in 2016, with David Lloyd's 81 carrying Glamorgan to 159/8, despite Nuwan Kulasekara taking 4/28 for the away side. 4/17 from four overs for Timm van der Gugten, 2/16 for Michael Hogan, 2/24 for Craig Meschede and 2/8 for Graham Wagg made light work of the visitors who crumbled to 113 all out.

Away - Aug 6 2019 - Sussex win by nine wickets

Away - Jun 9 2017 - Glamorgan win by 18 runs

Sussex's dominant victory at Hove in 2019 served to underline their potential title credentials, as David Lloyd's 50 from 37 was the only Glamorgan player to get going against a bowling attack of Topley, Robinson, Rashid Khan, Mills, and Briggs. The target of 147 proved too easy for the hosts, with Salt (78*) and Luke Wright (56) helping Sussex chase it down in just 13.5 overs.

Glamorgan's last victory on the south coast came at Arundel in 2017 as Ingram's incredible century (101 from 47, with 8 fours and 7 sixes), alongside Rudolph's 49 and Cooke's 37 from 17, saw Glamorgan post 198/3 against an attack containing Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan. Luke Wright hit 101 of his own in reply but Sussex could only reach 180/6, with Hogan's 2/22 and Ingram's 2/27 the best figures of the match.