James Bracey holds firm to steer Gloucestershire to victory

Gloucestershire claimed the third win of their Vitality Blast campaign with a five-wicket victory over Glamorgan in Cardiff thanks to an impressive performance with both bat and ball.

Glamorgan got off to a strong start in their batting innings with an opening stand between David Lloyd and Sam Northeast taking them to 90 without loss. From there Gloucestershire came back into the game as Glamorgan made 69 for eight from the last 10 overs of their innings to set a target of 159 to win.

James Bracey batted brilliantly to make 63 from 49 balls with support from Glenn Phillips and Miles Hammond to break the back of the chase.

Gloucestershire looked to be cruising to the win before three wickets in the space of six balls meant they limped over the line in the end.

Having been put into bat the partnership between Lloyd and Northeast put the home side in control of the early stages of the match. Lloyd was the main threat, making 68 from 43 balls, his best score in T20 cricket since 2016.

It was the wily Benny Howell who made the breakthrough for Gloucestershire, claiming the wickets of both openers in the space of 15 runs. Those wickets were the first of the eight to fall in the second half of the Glamorgan innings as the visitors wrestled their way back into the game. Howell's variations and Tom Smith's left-arm spin choked the Glamorgan middle order as wickets fell with regularity.

Once the openers were gone no Glamorgan batter passed 20 with the next highest partnership being just 17 runs. Having been expensive in his first two overs David Payne came back well in the death overs, claiming the wickets of James Weighell and the dangerous Dan Douthwaite.

Gloucestershire got off to a similarly impressive start to their innings, reaching 54 without loss at the end of the Powerplay. The introduction of Douthwaite for the seventh over than brought the first wicket with Miles Hammond getting caught on the boundary by Eddie Byrom.

A partnership between Bracey and Phillips continued Gloucestershire's progress towards victory with Bracey reaching fifty off 40 balls. Phillips was happy to play the supporting role while he got himself set but he to started to find the boundary with relative ease before he was well caught at long on by Michael Hogan off the bowling of Douthwaite.

With Michael Neser missing due to a positive Covid test, the Glamorgan attack lacked penetration with a damp ball as a result of two brief rain delays not helping them regain control of the Gloucestershire innings. The cluster of wickets right at the death gave Glamorgan some hope but with just eight runs needed from 14 balls Gloucestershire wrapped up with in in the 19th over of their chase.