Glamorgan`s unbeaten League run comes to an end at Edgbaston

Glamorgan`s unbeaten run in the National League came to an end at Edgbaston as Warwickshire won a rain-affected match by two wickets, and they were indebted to a fine captain`s innings of 75 by Nick Knight who anchored Warwickshire`s successful run chase before being dismissed with his side just 3 runs short of the revised target of 179.

Earlier Robert Croft had won the toss and elected to take first use of the wicket which had also been used on Friday night in the Twenty20 match. Croft finished as Glamorgan`s top scorer with 42 from 48 balls, but apart from David Hemp none of Glamorgan`s other top order batsmen made a sizeable contribution. Indeed, it was Hemp who guided Glamorgan to their total of 193, with the former Warwickshire batsman making 41 before being the final wicket to fall off the last ball of the 44th over.

After an interruption for a heavy thunderstorm, Warwickshire`s target was readjusted to 179 from 39 overs, but a magnificent opening spell by Michael Kasprowicz plus an accurate burst by David Harrison saw Warwickshire slump to 16-3 after 10 overs. Alex Wharf then claimed the wickets of Dominic Ostler and Trevor Penney, but a stand of 82 in 16 overs between Nick Knight and Dougie Brown transformed everything and put Warwickshire back into contention.

Kasprowicz returned to dismiss Brown one run short of his half-century, but Knight and Neil Smith drew on all of their experience to take Warwickshire closer to their target. Although both departed in the closing overs, they had both done their job admirably, and it was Neil Carter who hit the winning runs with one ball in hand to see Warwickshire home by two wickets.

This was Glamorgan`s first defeat away from home in the competition since September 4th 2001 when they lost a floodlit match game against Sussex at Hove, and before today`s match started Warwickshire had also been the last county to beat Glamorgan in a League contest, having won the final game of last season at Sophia Gardens.