One-Day Cup: Joe Cooke stars as Glamorgan beat Essex to reach final

Joe Cooke's five-wicket haul and unbeaten 66 led Glamorgan to victory over Essex

Glamorgan claimed a place in the final of the One-Day Cup with a five-wicket victory over Essex in Cardiff as Joe Cooke starred with bat and ball.

Glamorgan reached 293-5 for victory with half-centuries from Hamish Rutherford, Nick Selman and Cooke.

They will face either Durham or Surrey, who play on Tuesday, in the final at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

Alastair Cook top-scored with 68 in the Essex total of 289, with Cooke taking 5-61 for Glamorgan.

Cook's classy innings, off just 66 balls, got Essex off to a flier. He shared a stand of 111 in 20.4 overs with newcomer Josh Rymell (44), before the former England captain was brilliantly stumped by Tom Cullen off a Steve Reingold wide.

With Tom Westley (31) and Feroze Khushi (26) chipping in, Essex looked set for a total over 300, especially when tall left-hander Paul Walter clubbed 50 off 38 balls.

But veteran Michael Hogan bowled brilliantly for his 1-21 in 10 overs, spinner Andrew Salter was tidy with 1-39, and Cooke kept inducing miss-hits in the closing stages to record career-best figures. Reingold claimed four catches as the Eagles fell away.

On a fresh pitch with better pace and bounce than recent games at Sophia Gardens, Glamorgan also got off to a jet-propelled start as Rutherford lashed 67 off 44 balls, hitting three sixes before perishing caught in the deep off the wily Simon Harmer.

Kiran Carlson's 36 kept the momentum going, but Westley's off-breaks accounted for both the Glamorgan captain and the in-form Selman (59 off 80), who was caught behind down the leg-side to leave Glamorgan struggling at 182-5.

Essex looked to have the momentum at that stage, but the hosts fought back again with a stand of 111 between Cooke, who finished unbeaten on 66 off 56 balls, and Tom Cullen who was 41 not out off 48.

Cooke was not deterred by the run-rate rising above seven an over, accelerating towards the end and sealing success with a huge straight six and two overs to spare.

Glamorgan all-rounder Joe Cooke told BBC Sport Wales:

"It was one of those days when everything happened perfectly, wickets came when we needed them and it was very special to get the winning runs.

"Tom and me knew that because Hamish scored so quickly at the start, we were able to just tick it along for a bit and then we took the opportunities to score boundaries when they came, it was a well-paced chase in the end.

"We said we didn't want it (to go) into the last over so we tried to get it done before that. It's pretty cool, pretty special to have a place in the final.

"To go from opening the batting in the Championship to batting seven and bowling in the One-Day Cup, it's a different role but I'm really enjoying it and it keeps me involved in the game. It was great to have my family in as well, because they weren't able to watch when I started playing for the first team."

Glamorgan opening bat Hamish Rutherford added:

"It was a really good game of one-day cricket, they played pretty well for the first half of their innings and we pegged them back to what was probably under par, but you won't see many better chases.

"The guys at the end (Cooke and Cullen) managed it really well and we won it quite comfortably.

"It's one of the better wickets we've played on in the comp, so it was really good to be able to hit the ball, and it was my job to get ahead of the rate and make it easier to manage for the boys in the middle."

Essex captain Tom Westley said:

"It's disappointing and never nice to lose a knock-out game. The cricket we have played this season has been great and it's a huge positive for us to reach a semi-final. I'm really proud of the guys in the changing room for their effort.

"We thought it was a good wicket and a good score at halfway.

"I don't buy it that there is nothing left to play for now this season. Every time you cross the line as a professional in the Essex shirt you play for pride and you have to have pride in your performance."

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