Allenby flays former county in Somerset romp

Somerset 338 for 3 (Allenby 144*, Elgar 96, Hildreth 58*) beat Glamorgan 168 (Carlson 63) by 170 runs
Scorecard

A career-best 144 not out from Jim Allenby against his former county, an innings well supported by Dean Elgar and James Hildreth, enabled Somerset to easily defend a target of 339, and maintain their 100 per cent record at the top of South Group.

Somerset also inflicted on Glamorgan their third defeat in four games, and a further defeat against Essex on Sunday will almost certainly end their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

After electing to field, Marchant De Lange and Michael Hogan bowled an accurate opening spell, with both bowlers taking a wicket apiece, which included Steve Davies, whose wretched form continued - three successive ducks before this game - when he played across a straight ball after getting off the mark from a no ball.

When Peter Trego gave Hogan a return catch, Somerset were 42 for 2, but Allenby and Elgar then settled into a productive partnership of 187 in 33 overs. Both batsmen reached their fifties in the same over, and Elgar was nearing his second century in three games, and had passed fifty in every match, when he edged a catch down the legside to the wicketkeeper.

After Allenby had reached his century, he teamed up with Hildreth in a furious assault on the Glamorgan attack, with Hildreth striking an undefeated 58 from only 28 balls as the fourth wicket pair plundered 134 from the final ten overs. Allenby struck six sixes and eleven fours, while De Lange was hammered for 55 in his final three overs.

Glamorgan soon lost their openers, and when Colin Ingram was out in the 12th over for 2, they had subsided to 27 for 3 and were destined for defeat. Will Bragg and Kiran Carlson put on 55 for the fourth wicket until Bragg was stumped from a wide down the leg side, and when Aneurin Donald was bowled, the home team had lost half their side for 95.

Carlson, however, was rarely troubled, and driving powerfully through the off side, reached fifty from 47 balls with six boundaries, but after scoring 63, his highest List A score, he perished in the cause, attempting an expansive drive against Groenewald's medium pace.

There was little resistance from the lower order, and when Timm van der Gugten was caught on the mid- wicket boundary Glamorgan had been defeated by the substantial margin of 170 runs, with 13.2 overs remaining.