Despite a belligerent 107 from 73 balls by Colin Ingram, Glamorgan lost a high-scoring game against the Essex Eagles as the home side won by four wickets in their day-night contest in the Royal London One-Day Cup at Chelmsford.
Today’s game was a case of first meets third as leaders the Essex Eagles, who are level on seven points with Somerset, meet Glamorgan in a contest where the Welsh county know that, despite their 33-run defeat under the DLS Method at Taunton on Sunday, a victory today under the Chelmsford floodlights would keep them in contention for a home quarter-final in this competition.
Glamorgan named an unchanged eleven for the contest so after winning the toss Jacques Rudolph opened the innings with David Lloyd as Graham Napier and David Masters shared the bowling duties. Lloyd clipped Napier to mid-wicket for four before Rudolph drilled the all-rounder through the covers for a well-timed four. Masters bowled a typically probing spell at the River End before also being dispatched to the mid-wicket ropes by Lloyd.
Napier was also cover-driven for four by Lloyd before Rudolph nurdled Masters through the slips. Lloyd also inside-edged Masters for four before clipping Jamie Porter over square-leg for six. Rudolph also opened his shoulders as he deposited Dan Lawrence onto the roof of one of the maisonettes adjoining the ground.
Lloyd duly completed his fifty from 70 balls before cutting Lawrence for four, and the 100 came up next over as Rudolph deftly nurdled Bopara for four. Later in the over, Lloyd on-drove Bopara for four but shortly afterwards Rudolph was caught by Bopara as a ball seemed to stop as the Glamorgan captain chipped Lawrence to his counterpart at short extra-cover.
105/1 then became 111/s as Lloyd was caught by Jesse Ryder at backward point off a full bloodied cut against Napier who had returned at the Hayes Close End. Will Bragg and Colin Ingram duly joined forces with the former dispatching successive balls through extra-cover and mid-wicket. Ingram announced his arrival with a savage cut against Napier before depositing Lawrence into the traffic on the dual carriageway skirting the ground.
Ingram also hoisted Lawrence for six onto another townhouse before Masters returned in off-cutter mode and was drilled through mid-off by Bragg, who later in the over survived a stumping chance. He celebrated by scything Porter to third man for four before swatting the young seamer for six. Ingram also pulled and drove successive balls from Porter for four to mid-wicket and cover point.
The helter-skelter tempo was maintained as Bragg reverse-swept successive balls from Masters for four, but next ball Foster atoned for his error the previous over as he pouched a top-edge from the southpaw’s bat as Bragg attempted an orthodox pull against the veteran. 194/3 became 200/4 as Aneurin Donald departed l.b.w. to Masters in the 37th over.
Mark Wallace began with a cover-drive for four against Masters as the floodlights came on with Ingram pulling another short ball from Porter to complete a 41-ball fifty. But Bopara returned at the Hayes Close End and bowled Wallace as Graham Wagg became Ingram’s new partner. The Springbok then bludgeoned Napier to mid-wicket for four before scampering a series of swift singles with Wagg. Ingram also biffed successive balls from Bopara for six to long-on and long-off separated by a coruscating four through point.
With Wagg wisely pushing the singles to get Ingram back on strike, the left-hander survived a chance at point as Porter spilled a fierce cut. Three balls later he unfurled another savage cut for four before scything Napier for another huge six into the adjoining housing estate and completing his hundred from 66 balls with a firmly struck drive through backward point against Napier.
Wagg brought up the 300 by flicking Bopara for four to fine-leg but one run later Ingram skied a pull against a full toss from Napier with Lawrence pouching the ball on the mid-wicket boundary. Wagg then holed out at long-off in the penultimate over before Craig Meschede departed on the boundary’s edge in the closing over as a haemorrhage of 97 runs came in the last ten overs.
Needing 325 to win, Browne struck a pair of off-side boundaries in Michael Hogan’s opening over before cover-driving Wagg in his second. He then flicked Hogan behind square-leg for four before Tom Westley also clipped Wagg to the ropes at square-leg. Browne continued to find the ropes as he drilled Hogan through mid-off for four. But with the total on 46, Westley edged Wagg into Wallace’s gloves as Jesse Ryder made his way to the middle.
The burly Kiwi began with a brace of singles before dispatching Timm van der Gugten’s first and fourth deliveries through mid-off and cover for a pair of rasping fours. He also clubbed the Dutchman for a massive six over mid-wicket before Browne glanced Meschede to fine-leg before completing a 57-ball fifty. Ryder also swept Salter for four before clipping him to wide long-on as he reached his fifty from 49 balls.
Meschede had delivered a probing spell at the Hayes Close End and his accuracy was rewarded with the scalp of Ryder who feathered a catch into Wallace’s gloves with the keeper standing up as he attempted a nurdle to third man. 128/2 saw Bopara join Browne who, having become becalmed, lofted Meschede over extra cover for four. His aggression prompted the introduction of Ingram’s leg-spin with the twirler only conceding a couple of singles in his first over.
Bopara, after a quiet start, found the ropes as he punched van der Gugten square of the wicket before on-driving Ingram for a second four. With 164 needed from 21 overs, Salter returned at the River End for a spell in tandem with Ingram who was lofted to long-off by Browne.
Wagg then came back at the Hayes Close End, with Hogan at the River End with Browne clubbing the Australian for successive fours to break the sequence of singles, Bopara also clipped him to third man and fine-leg as seventeen runs came off the over. With 115 needed from fifteen overs, Browne was then run out for 99 as an arrow-like throw from Salter at long-on ran out the opener at the bowler’s end as Hogan removed the bails with Browne well short of his ground.
Bopara drilled van der Gugten through the covers for four before completing his fifty from 47 balls whilst Lawrence began with an on-drive for four against Hogan. Bopara also cover drove van der Gugten for four, but the Dutchman gained revenge as later in the over Bopara was well caught at deep square-leg by substitute fielder Ruaidhri Smith who completed a diving catch running in from the boundary boards.
87 were still needed from 66 balls as ten Doeschate joined Lawrence and the pair accumulated in singles until ten Doeschate pulled Ingram’s final delivery for four to square-leg. Wagg then removed Lawrence who miscued a booming drive with Salter completing the catch running in from extra cover.
55 were required from 36 balls with Ashar Zaidi having joined ten Doeschate and the former hoisted van der Gugten for a six over deep mid-wicket, before the latter straight drove the fast bowler for four. But with the total on 289, van der Gugten bowled Zaidi with a slower ball as Foster made his way to the middle with 36 required from 25 balls. He duly pulled Wagg for four besides getting a thick outside edge to another drive which sped away for four as the task became 23 from 18 deliveries
Foster then drilled van der Gugten through extra-cover for four before swatting Hogan to long-off for four in the penultimate over, as well as running some swift one’s and two’s before ten Doeschate brought the scores level off the last ball of the penultimate over and then scrambling a leg bye as the Eagles won with five balls to spare besides making the highest ever score by a side batting second and winning a List A game against Glamorgan.