Somerset are Glamorgan’s next opponents in the NatWest T20 Blast as the Welsh side head to Taunton for a contest scheduled to get underway at 5.30pm at Taunton on Wednesday, June 15th
Table-topping Glamorgan will be looking to continue their outstanding form in the competition having defeated Gloucestershire on Friday night at Bristol to maintain their position at the top of the South Group by virtue of a healthy run rate. In contrast, Somerset languish in 7th place having won two games of their four matches, and lost the others.
Glamorgan won a thrilling encounter last summer at Taunton by three runs, thanks to their Springbok duo of Colin Ingram who posted an imperious 96 from 62 balls and Wayne Parnell who delivered a nerveless final over. With the home side needing twelve off the final over, Tim Groenewald on-drove the South African’s first delivery for four and, after a flurry of singles and a wide, Abdur Rehman was left needing to strike four from the final two balls. But Parnell yorked the Pakistani spinner before Max Waller failed to make contact with the final delivery.
Glamorgan were also victorious at Taunton in 2014 as they won by seven runs with Jim Allenby making an unbeaten 96 before some accurate bowling by the rest of the Glamorgan attack, most notably Graham Wagg who claimed three wickets, saw Glamorgan erase the memory of a series of defeats at Somerset’s headquarters.
For several years, Taunton had proved to be something of an unhappy hunting ground for the Welsh county, having only previously won at Taunton on their first visit to Somerset’s headquarters in the Twenty20 competition in July 2004 when Ian Thomas cut to shreds the home attack as he posted a brilliant 116 – still the highest-ever individual score any Glamorgan batsman has made in the competition.
In 2013 at Taunton Glamorgan lost despite having been in the driving seat for much of the contest, but Jos Buttler, now at Lancashire and Craig Meschede, now with Glamorgan, dramatically transformed the complexion of the game by adding 70 runs in the last four overs. In 2012 at Somerset’s headquarters, it was James Hildreth who stole the headlines as the middle-order batsman posted a fine century to lay the foundations for a Somerset victory, and all after an assertive innings of 85 by Australian Shaun Marsh for the Welsh side.