A vintage 70 from 57 balls by Mark Wallace plus 4/34 by Michael Hogan saw Glamorgan defeat Somerset by just one wicket in their vital Yorkshire Bank40 match at the SWALEC Stadium with Simon Jones hitting a boundary with three balls remaining to clinch a dramatic victory..
The Welsh county won the toss and elected to bowl first with Michael Hogan making a great start as with his fourth ball he clean bowled Marcus Trescothick in a frugal spell with the tall seamer not conceding a run until his third over. Peter Trego then got the scoreboard moving as he leg-glanced Jim Allenby for four, before Craig Kieswetter - who posted a match-winning hundred yesterday against Gloucestershire - drilled Hogan through mid-off for four.
Trego found the ropes in the next over as he despatched Allenby through the covers but with the total on 19 Kieswetter drove Hogan straight into Ben Wright's hands at extra cover. Three runs later Alviro Petersen survived a loud appeal for l.b.w. as Graham Wagg entered the attack at the Cathedral Road End, before Trego glanced Allenby for four to long-leg.
With the total approaching the 50-mark Dean Cosker and Simon Jones entered the attack, and the latter struck with his third delivery as he clean bowled Petersen. Trego responded by cover-driving Cosker for four before drilling him to long-on, but two balls later he lofted the ball in the air once too often and was caught by Hogan at long-off as Somerset slipped to 64/4 in the 17th over.
Jos Buttler announced his arrival by off-driving Jones for four before greeting the return of Wagg by also pulling him for four. After a further flurry of singles, Somerset reached the 100-mark in the 26th over. Butler celebrated by on-driving Allenby for six as the fifth wicket stand also reached fifty. Compton almost scooped Allenby to Hogan at deep square-leg before Somerset took their batting powerplay in the 32nd with their total on 126/4.
Both batsmen swatted Jones and Wagg through the leg-side with each collecting fours to the ropes at mid-wicket against Jones. Another pair of leg-side boundaries against Wagg brought up the 150 in the 34th over, as Buttler reached his fifty from 39 balls before Compton followed suit from 74 balls. Buttler then brought up the century stand by swatting Hogan over backward point for four, followed by a six to long-off and a rasping four through extra cover before Compton was bowled by Hogan for 50 after the four powerplay overs had yielded 54 runs.
Jones then returned and trapped Buttler leg before for 67 with a full length ball. Adam Dibble then took a couple of fours from Hogan's final over before becoming his fourth victim as he was bowled. Some smart fielding by Wright then ran out Craig Meschede in the final over as Somerset ended on 222/8.
Like Somerset, Glamorgan lost an early wicket as Gareth Rees departed l.b.w. to Steve Kirby in the second over, but a flurry of fours then followed as Mark Wallace responded with a pair of drives against Trego and Kirby, whilst Chris Cooke also guided Kirby to third man for four. Wallace then savagely pulled Trego for four to mid-wicket before swatting him to third man for another boundary. Cooke also had a thick edge over the head of slips for four before Wallace greeted the introduction of Meschede into the attack by twice drilling him through extra cover for three scorching fours as Glamorgan raced to the 50-mark in only the seventh over.
Wallace continued his furious assault by pulling Dibble for six over square-leg as he raced to fifty from just 33 balls. Cooke then cleverly steered Overton to third man before cover driving Dibble for another four to maintain the healthy start. Next over he added to his tally by savagely pulling Overton over the head of a diving Kirby at long-leg before Wallace harpooned Overton over mid-wicket for six as Glamorgan roared to the hundred-mark in the 15th over.
The pair also scampered some swift singles to maintain the helter-skleter pace of the innings, but with the total on 120 in the 19th over, Wallace's scintillating assault was ended as he edged Meschede into Kieswetter's gloves and departed having made 70 from 57 balls.
Marcus North began with a crisply drive four through the covers against Meschede but with the total on 130, Kirby returned and bowled Cooke for 44 as Allenby joined his captain with 93 needed from 18.4 overs. The pair began by working the ball around for one's and two's before Allenby despatched Trego through the covers for four followed by another rasping blow through backward point against Overton, but two balls later a one-handed catch by Dibble at mid-wicket ended Allenby's brief cameo with Glamorgan on 153/4.
Murray Goodwin began with a deft late cut for four against Overton before North upper-cut the same bowler for four to third man as the target became 48 from 66 balls. A further flurry of singles followed before North unleashed a booming off drive for four, but to the next ball he edged Meschede to Kieswetter. 195/5 then became 198/6 as Wright also edged Kirby to the keeper. Goodwin plundered another four but with the total on 207 he too was caught behind.
With 30 balls remaining. Glamorgan's target to win was 16 but Cosker then holed out to Buttler at deep-square-leg before Wagg deftly leg-glanced Overton for four as the powerplay was taken in the 37th over when the equation had become 11 off 24 balls. Hogan responded by cover driving Dibble for three , but with eight still needed to win, Dibble bowled Wagg.
Hogan then blocked out five balls from Kirby before lofting him for four. Jones then flayed at three balls from Dibble before nudging a single. Hogan then smeared two off Dibble's last ball to bring the scores level. Meschede then bowled two dot balsl to Jones before the paceman despatched the third ball over the head of cover for to clinch a dramatic victory by one wicket.
