Glam bowlers grab dramatic late win over Glos
Dan Douthwaite’s 4-25 was a career best performance
- Published
Metro Bank One Day Cup - Group B
Glamorgan 187-8 (33 overs): Kellaway 65*; Goodman 3-53
Gloucestershire 160 (30.1 overs): Bracey 86; Douthwaite 4-25, Gorvin 3-32
Glamorgan (2 pts) won by 27 runs
Glamorgan’s bowlers struck late to grab a 27-run victory over Gloucestershire despite a brilliant 86 from James Bracey.
Chasing 188 in 33 overs, Gloucestershire lost their last five wickets for just three runs against Dan Douthwaite and Andy Gorvin.
Glamorgan’s 187-8 owed much to Ben Kellaway, who hit 65 not out off just 60 balls.
Ajeet Singh-Dale was the pick of the Shire bowlers with two for 22 in seven overs.
Glamorgan were without Colin Ingram after a late temporary call to Northern Superchargers in the Hundred, while they gave a debut to 20-year-old Jersey batter Asa Tribe.
But Gloucestershire’s bowlers defied the absence of three front-liners to franchise duties, with Singh-Dale particularly hostile as they reduced Glamorgan to 27-3 with some quality new-ball efforts on a green-tinged pitch.
Kiran Carlson threatened to lead a recovery before falling for 34 to Dominic Goodman (3-53), while Billy Root chipped in with 29.
But it fell to Kellaway to lead the way through the second half of the innings with a mature knock which ensured the home side had something to defend in sultry conditions.
Gloucestershire also struggled early on slipping to 44-3 against the home seamers, but Bracey led the counter-attack with 14 off three balls from Timm van der Gugten.
He built the visitors’ innings almost single-handed with a range of fine shots, until an eccentric cameo of 23 from Graeme van Buuren helped them accelerate.
Bracey had hit nine fours and three sixes off 79 balls when he played on to Douthwaite (4-25) with the score on 157, and Van Buuren was bowled by Gorvin (3-32) without addition.
That proved enough to swing the game as the seamers cleaned up the Gloucestershire tail in style.
Glamorgan all-rounder Dan Douthwaite told BBC Sport Wales:
“We always want to make it interesting at Glamorgan, but Andy Gorvin, Ben Kellaway and myself who bowled towards the end, we kept believing we were only one or two wickets away even though it looked unlikely at times.
“It was a bit fortuitous the way I got Bracey with a chop-on, but we’d come close and his luck ran out.
“It’s an exciting start with a win coming into a new competition after a disappointing T20, the vibes are really good at the moment as we look to go again at Surrey on Sunday.”
Gloucestershire acting head coach Mark Thornburn told BBC Radio Bristol:
“For 60 overs of that game we competed really well and did some good things, but fell a bit short at the end.
“It was a challenging wicket and credit to Bracey for an exceptional innings, with the cameo from Graeme van Buuren we thought we were close to the finish line.”
