Glamorgan dramatically lose under the floodlights at Worcester

Glamorgan lost a dramatic floodlit National League match against Worcestershire at New Road by 3 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method after being set a revised target of 126 to win in 18 overs. Steady rain throughout the afternoon, meant that the start was delayed until 7.15pm, with the match being initially reduced to a 23 overs a side contest.

Robert Croft then won an important toss, and elected to bowl first with a side showing one change from the team on Sunday, with Owen Parkin replacing Dean Cosker. It was Parkin who opened the bowling with Michael Kasprowicz, and the Worcestershire openers Anurag Singh and Vikram Solanki got their side off to a rapid start, striking 8 boundaries in the first 27 balls.

But Kasprowicz, bowling from the Diglis End, then took 3 wickets in five balls without conceeding a run, as Solanki was caught at slip by Michael Powell, before Graeme Hick fended off his second ball into the hands of Jonathan Hughes in the gully. Then in his next over Andrew Hall was also caught in the gully, this time by Jimmy Maher, as Worcestershire slumped from 36-0 to 40-3.

Worcestershire captain Ben Smith made his intentions clear right from the outset, twice cutting Alex Wharf, who had replaced Kasprowicz at the Diglis End, over the point boundary for six, but Adrian Dale then replaced Wharf and immediately deceived Anurag Singh into chipping the ball into Powell`s hands at short mid-wicket with the score on 69-4.

Smith and David Leatherdale had added a further fifteen runs when a further rain interuption took place, and the game was further reduced to an 18 overs contest. After a thirty minute delay, the Worcestershire batsmen came back out to face a further 15 balls. Leatherdale was dismissed from the first delivery, but Smith and Gareth Batty added 32 runs as Worcestershire finished on 117-5 from their 18 overs.

After the recalculations had been done, Glamorgan`s target was 126, but they made a poor start losing Robert Croft to the second ball of the innings. Jimmy Maher and Matthew Maynard then added 38 before Maher was caught and bowled by Mason, but Maynard kept Glamorgan in the hunt striking six crisp boundaries before chipping Mason to Kabir Ali at mid-on.

Worcestershire came back into the match as Jonathan Hughes departed for 1, but Michael Powell and Adrian Dale put Glamorgan back in front, adding 24 in three and a half overs before the players left the field as the steady drizzle turned into heavy rain with 13.3 overs having been bowled.

At the time, Glamorgan were narrowly ahead under the Duckworth-Lewis method, but the stoppage proved to a very brief one, and the players returned. With the game still on a knife-edge, Dale and Powell added a further 13 runs, before Powell was bowled by Leatherdale, and then Mark Wallace was run-out.

Dale then top-edged the next ball from Kabir Ali into his face, and with blood pouring from a cut, Dale was forced to retire hurt, with Glamorgan still needing 15 from the last 10 balls. Wharf struck his first ball for four to briefly raise Welsh hopes, but only 1 run was added from the next three balls to leave Glamorgan needing 10 from the final over from Leatherdale.

Wharf scored 3 from the first couple of balls, before Kasprowicz was bowled by the third ball. David Harrison then scrambled 3 from the next two deliveries, leaving Wharf to score 4 from the final ball to win the game. However, the burly Yorkshireman could not make contact with Leatherdale`s last delivery, and Worcestershire had won a dramatic game by 3 runs.