An unbeaten 116 by Nick Selman saw Glamorgan successfully chase a target of 266 in 51 overs set by Durham on a rain-affected final day of their Specsavers County Championship match at Swansea, with the opener striking successive sixes in the final over as the Welsh county won with three balls to spare.
Evening update
Andrew Salter joined Selman after tea with 229 runs needed from 35.3 overs. Selman flicked Paul Coughlin to fine-leg for four whilst Salter dispatched the seamer through extra-cover for four. Salter also drilled Coughlin through mid-off before flicking him to fine-leg, but he then departed l.b.w. playing back to Ryan Pringle’s third delivery as Durham opted, in the gloomy conditions, for an all-spin attack.
With Glamorgan needing 205 from 28.3, Aneurin Donald began in positive vein sweeping successive deliveries from Harding for four before hoisting Pringle to wide long-on and mid-wicket for a pair of fours, followed by another sweep to the ropes at fine-leg. Selman also clipped a full toss from Harding to square-leg for four followed by an off-drive and pull for further boundaries.
Donald unfurled another reverse sweep as the 100 came up in the 28th over but his cameo ended next over as he miscued a drive into the hands of long-off. 104/3 saw David Lloyd join Selman but his stay in the middle was brief as four runs later he was bowled attempting to launch the left-arm spinner into the Mumbles Road.
Colin Ingram duly made his way out to join Selman with 158 needed from 20 overs, and it was the opener who found the ropes next as he straight drove Coughlin who briefly returned as the spinner’s changed ends. Ingram though was soon into his stride off-driving Harding and cover-driving Pringle, before lofting the first delivery of the final hour out of the ground for six.
Selman reached his fifty with a cover drive for four from his 89th delivery followed by a pair of rasping square-cuts, before Ingram bludgeoned successive balls from Pringle to long-on, fine-leg and deep mid-wicket – the latter for six as the target became 90 in 10 overs. Selman responded by sweeping Harding for four but Ingram was then caught by Stuart Poynter as he thick-edged another expansive blow.
Chris Cooke began with a boundary to third man as he late-cut Harding before hoisting him straight for six as the equation became 65 from seven overs. Cooke responded by lofting Pringle into the Mumbles Road for another six before lofting Harding over wide long-off for another maximum as the task became 44 from 30 deliveries. Couglin then returned at the Mumbles Road End and was pulled for four by Selman, but later in the over Cooke pulled the seamer into the hands of deep backward square-leg.
37 were needed in the last four overs as Will Bragg joined forces with Selman who lofted Harding for six over long-on as the equation was reduced to 26 from 18 balls. But after a single from Selman Bragg edged as expansive drive against Coughlin into the wicket-keeper’s gloves as de Lange joined the opener. However, only two singles came in the over as Harding bowled the penultimate over still with 24 needed and seven men on the boundary. Nevertheless, ten runs still came as Selman swept Harding for four to complete his century from 124 balls, and then with fourteen needed from the final over straight-driving Coughlin for six and then pulling him for another maximum to deep mid-wicket. He then finished off the job with two to mid-wicket as Glamorgan clinched a thrilling victory.
Teatime update
Rain and bad light prevented a resumption until 2.40pm whereupon Durham declared on their lunchtime score, leaving the Welsh county a target of 266 in a minimum of 51 overs. Nick Selman and Jacques Rudolph opened the batting as Chris Rushworth and James Weighell shared the new ball. After a watchful start Rudolph threaded a ball from Rushworth through the covers for the first boundary of the innings before swatting him through mid-wicket for four, followed by a forceful drive off the back foot against Weighell.
Selman on-drove Rushworth for four whilst Rudolph cover-drove George Harding when the tall left-arm spinner entered the attack shortly before tea. But in the last over of the session, Rudolph was caught at leg-slip attempting to reverse-sweep the spinner.
Lunchtime update
This is Durham's first visit to Swansea for a County Championship match for twenty-two years and, just like the contest in 1995, it was fairly even on first innings with Glamorgan securing a slender 11 run lead after their tail had wagged in spirited fashion, as Andrew Salter oversaw affairs with a career-best 75 with the last four wickets adding 120 invaluable runs, in stark contrast to Durham’s zero from their last four men.
Salter’s efforts with Michael Hogan for the tenth wicket also saw the Welsh county into the lead besides initiating a momentum shift in Glamorgan’s favour which continued when the home side started bowling for a second time. Things may have been even better had a couple of catches not been spilled before Paul Collingwood again lent useful support to Graham Clark as Durham ended the day, truncated by bad light and rain, 147 runs ahead with seven wickets in hand.
The overhead conditions were more favourable this morning as sunshine bathed the ground when play resumed on time at 11am. Collingwood struck the day’s first boundary as he drove de Lange through mid-off before completing his fifty from 71 balls. Clark then brought up the century stand by pulling de Lange for four but next over he sparred at a short ball outside off stump from Hogan and edged to Chris Cooke.
177/4 saw Ryan Pringle join his captain as the pair accumulated largely in singles as the home bowlers strove to make further inroads. The sequence of ones ended as Pringle pulled de Lange to long-on before clipping David Lloyd to mid-wicket. He also square-cut the all-rounder for another boundary before driving him through mid-on, followed by a slog-sweep for four when Andrew Salter entered the attack.
Collingwood then found the ropes as he flicked van der Gugten to deep backward square-leg before carving him over the head of point, followed by a deft leg-glance. Pringle drove Salter to mid-wicket for four, before Collingwood lofted the off-spinner just over the head of mid-off and mid-wicket. Hogan duly returned and removed Pringle who swatted a short ball to de Lange at fine-leg. 258/5 then became 259/6 as Paul Coughlin miscued a drive against Salter and was caught by Hogan at mid-off.
Five runs later Stuart Poynter edged Salter into Cooke’s gloves before James Weighell defiantly lofted the last ball of the morning session over long-on for six.