Rain wins after Napier hat-trick

Glamorgan 222 for 7 v Essex - No Result
Scorecard

Graham Napier celebrated a dramatic hat-trick but Essex Eagles' day-night Clydesdale Bank 40 clash against Glamorgan Dragons fell victim to the weather.

Glamorgan scored 222 for 7 after being sent in to bat at the Swalec Stadium, only for rain to then set in and force the match to be abandoned. It meant that Alastair Cook failed to get a bat for the first time since being named England one-day captain.

Glamorgan were indebted to captain and opener Alviro Petersen, who made 88 from 104 balls, until he was out in the penultimate over. Petersen and Gareth Rees had given Glamorgan a useful start, putting on 116 for the first wicket in 22.1 overs until Napier struck with his hat-trick.

It was the first hat-trick in the competition against the Dragons since Kevin Evans achieved the feat for Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 1994 and Rees was first to fall. The left-hander, who scored 51 from 70 balls, edged an attempted expansive drive behind before Napier had both James Allenby and Stewart Walters leg-before with inswinging yorkers that struck them on the boot. The home side suddenly found themselves 116 for 3.

There was more problems for Glamorgan when Cook ran out Ben Wright, following a mix-up that Petersen could take the blame for, as they attempted a second run in the 26th over. The score became 148 for 5 soon after when wicketkeeper Mark Wallace was run out after racing down the wicket for a run that was not there.

But Petersen shared in a useful partnership of 43 in 6.1 overs with Graham Wagg, and there was an unbeaten 19 from James Harris at the end as 18 runs came off the final over, but not before Petersen was caught at short fine-leg.

Rain arrived in the interval and it left the umpires Peter Willey and Jeff Evans with no choice but to abandon play at 9pm.