Wagg holds nerve as Glamorgan edge out Sussex

Glamorgan 137 for 3 beat Sussex 135 for 4 by two runs
Scorecard

South Group leaders Sussex Sharks slumped to a last-ball Friends Life t20 defeat against Glamorgan Dragons at Cardiff.

The Sharks were set 138 to win and at 78 without loss off 11 overs looked well set to seal their sixth win in eight games. But Glamorgan, who surprisingly gave part-time spinner Gareth Rees the second over from which 16 runs came, fought back to take four key wickets, including Ben Brown (42 off 38 balls) bowled by Simon Jones and Sussex captain Murray Goodwin bowled by Dean Cosker, attempting a reverse sweep.

With six overs remaining Sussex, who were without Luke Wright and Matt Prior, were left with 45 to get, but gradually Glamorgan, especially through Jim Allenby and Graham Wagg, started turning the screw on a slow Cardiff wicket.

Luke Wells went bowled by a Wagg yorker leaving Sussex needing 19 from the final 12 balls. Opener Chris Nash, who made an unbeaten 64, and Rana Naved were left with 13 from the last six balls, which turned out to be five from the final ball.

Nash looked as if he might have hit a boundary from Wagg's final ball of the match, which would have tied the match, but a good piece of fielding from skipper Alviro Petersen on the boundary restricted the Sharks to just two.

The narrow two-run victory has re-ignited Glamorgan's hopes of reaching the last eight. After winning the toss the Dragons were restricted to 137 for 3 in their 20 overs on a sluggish pitch, and in a bid to negate the big-hitting Mark Cosgrove the Sharks opened with both spinners with mixed results.

The first over from Ollie Rayner produced just the one run but the next from Monty Panesar disappeared for 16, including a six over long-on from Cosgrove. But that was a rare expensive over from the Sussex attack which included Pakistan paceman Umar Gul for the first time.

Panesar had some revenge when he bowled Cosgrove in the eighth over, but in his next Rees struck the former England slow left-armer for two fours. Glamorgan's innings was given some real impetus with two sixes from Petersen off an over from Rayner before Gul trapped Rees leg before.

Sussex were boosted that they had Gul and Naved to bowl the last five overs between them with Glamorgan struggling to deal with yorker deliveries and reverse swing. Only 33 runs came in those five overs including the wicket of Petersen who holed out at long on but in the end Glamorgan's total proved just enough.