August 3, 2024

Glamorgan Maintain 100% Record with One-wicket Win Over Sussex

Glamorgan narrowly won despite a strong effort from Sussex’s young spinners, Archie Lenham and Bertie Foreman. After reaching 200 all out, Sussex nearly pulled off a win thanks to a brilliant eighth-wicket partnership between Lenham and Foreman. The two also performed impressively with the ball, bringing Sussex close to victory.

Glamorgan started their chase well but faced a top-order collapse that allowed Sussex back into the game. Eddie Byrom scored 51, and Billy Root added 48. Still, the match was decided by the last-wicket pair, Andy Gorvin and Jamie McIlroy, who guided Glamorgan to victory.

Glamorgan now leads Group B with four wins from four games, while Sussex remains winless, having lost by one wicket for the second time this season.

Glamorgan won the toss and chose to bowl, and their seamers dominated from the start. Sussex struggled initially, scoring their first runs only after 23 balls. Timm van der Gugten and Jamie McIlroy exploited the conditions well, with van der Gugten making the first breakthrough by dismissing Tom Clark for 14. Tom Haines and Henry Rogers put on a 59-run partnership, the highest of Sussex’s innings. Still, Haines fell for 44, starting a collapse where Sussex lost five wickets for just 15 runs.

Dan Douthwaite and van der Gugten took seven of Sussex’s wickets, claiming 4 for 44. Sussex stumbled to 130 for 7 before a 51-run partnership between Lenham and Foreman helped them reach 200.

Byrom led the charge in Glamorgan’s innings, reaching 50 off just 41 balls. Although they started well, losing five wickets for 42 runs brought Sussex back into the game. Daniel Ibrahim’s two quick wickets added to the tension. Billy Root’s 48 was crucial as he battled against strong spin bowling from Lenham and Foreman. Their combined efforts yielded 60 runs and four wickets in 20 overs. Ultimately, a tense last-wicket stand between McIlroy and Gorvin secured the win for Glamorgan.

Colin Ackermann’s 108 Trumps Prithvi Shaw’s 97 in Durham Win

Durham secured their second Metro Bank One-Day Cup win with a four-wicket victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Chester-le-Street. Colin Ackermann played a key role, scoring his first List-A century with 108 runs, guiding Durham to chase down Northamptonshire’s total of 260 with 11 balls to spare.

The match looked uncertain early on as Northamptonshire’s opener, Prithvi Shaw, scored a brilliant 97 off 71 balls. The visitors were well-placed at 144 for 1 after 21 overs. However, Durham’s spinners slowed the run rate significantly, allowing Durham to take control of the game.

Northamptonshire’s innings started strongly with nine boundaries in the first five overs, leaving them 53 without loss. Bas de Leede then took a crucial wicket, dismissing Ricardo Vasconcelos for 9. Still, Shaw continued to dominate, reaching 50 off just 31 balls with 11 fours. Despite Scott Borthwick’s leg-spin slowing Shaw down, Shaw was eventually out for 97, caught top-edging a sweep.

Durham’s bowlers made vital breakthroughs, including a challenging catch by Mitch Killeen off a reverse sweep from George Bartlett. Northamptonshire has now lost all four of their matches and needs to win the next four games to have a chance at reaching the knockout stages.

Northamptonshire was left at 162 for 3 in the 26th over. Durham took another wicket 26 runs later when Rob Keogh mistimed an Ackermann delivery, caught by Paul Coughlin at midwicket.

Saif Zaib scored 25 off 33 balls and was caught at deep square leg off a Borthwick delivery. Northants also lost Gus Miller, bowled by Coughlin for 15, and Justin Broad, run out for 1 as they tried to accelerate in the last ten overs. They were all out for 260 in the final over, a total Durham likely felt was manageable thanks to strong bowling performances from Ackermann (2 for 38) and Borthwick (2 for 42).

Durham’s batting started more cautiously than Northants’, scoring only 35 runs in the first ten overs and losing Michael Jones and Ben McKinney. However, a solid partnership between Alex Lees and Ackermann turned the game around. They saw off the seam bowlers and then took control against the spinners, building a century stand in 95 balls. Ackermann reached fifty off 52 balls, and Durham was at 126 for 2 after 25 overs.

Lees, who scored 55 off 51 balls, was out leg before to Zaib, ending their 133-run partnership. Durham needed 98 runs off 20 overs but faced some difficulty. Ackermann was out for 108 when he was caught off Gus Miller, and Borthwick was dismissed for 40 after sweeping Zaib. Haydon Mustard was bowled for 8 by Keogh. Despite losing three wickets in four overs, de Leede’s unbeaten 15 helped Durham secure the win.