After their disappointments last Sunday at Hove, Glamorgan bounced back in some style last night at Chelmsford as they completed an emphatic home and away double against a despondent Essex team who appeared devoid of confidence. (writes Andrew Hignell)
The 40-run victory came after the Welsh county had been put in to bat, but responded in spirited style by posting their seventh highest total in T20 cricket and left Essex needing to make their highest-ever score batting second. A flurry of boundaries had bookended the Glamorgan innings and had it not been for a mid-innings stutter when three wickets fell for eight runs in two overs, the Welsh county might have reached a competition-best total.
Player of the Match Will Smale led the charge with a handsome and career-best 65 from 40 balls, striking 5 fours and 4 sixes, besides making the home team rue the fact that Mohammad Amir fhad ailed to get under a mistimed pull from the young tyro during his second over. Smale responded by pulling Sam Cook for four and six before doing the same to Shane Snater. A rasping straight drive against Cook was followed by a crisply-struck sweep for four against Simon Harmer, plus a ferocious pull for six over mid-wicket against Matt Critchley. By this time, Smale had the company of Colin Ingram with the pair adding 84 in 7.1 overs with the South African also pulling Snater for six over square-leg besides straight-driving Paul Walter for another maximum. After reaching 50 from 29 balls, Smale lofted Harmer for a straight six but a couple of overs later perished as he attempted to repeat the stroke against Critchley and was caught at long-on.
After a brief wobble in mid-innings, the impetus was regained in the closing overs by Dan Douthwaite and Timm van der Gugten, who struck a fusillade of boundaries, plundering 34 from the final two overs with the former playing some booming straight drives for six, whilst the latter swatted Amir for two sixes in the final over. The pair were soon amongst the wickets when Essex batted with Adam Rossington edging the Dutch international to slip and Dean Elgar being deceived by a clever slower ball from Douthwaite and chipping the ball back to the grateful bowler.
Ben Kellaway and Mason Crane worked their way through the Essex batting with the former striking with his first ball as, in left-arm mode, he removed Jordan Cox as Asa Tribe completed a fine tumbling catch at long-on. Next over, Walter skewed an over-ambitious drive against a Crane googly straight into the hands of the fielder stationed at point before, three balls later, the leg-spinner bowled Critchley.
With 130 needed in the final ten overs, Luc Benkenstein made 50 from 24 balls, but wickets continued to tumble at the other end. Good catches by Andy Gorvin and Kellaway in the deep, plus the smart run-out of Cook in the final over by Tribe epitomised the differences in collective energy between the two teams. The handsome victory by Glamorgan consigned Essex to their fifth successive defeat and a place firmly at the foot of the group table as the Welsh county completed a home and away double over Essex for the second time in the competition – the previous occasion being in 2018.