By 24 runs, Warwickshire 331 for 7 defeated Glamorgan 307 for x (Northeast 69, Kellaway 67, Carlson 61, Root 56, Hannon-Dalby 4-43)
Rob Yates and Ed Barnard, the Warwickshire team’s opening pair, laid the groundwork for them to keep their perfect record, though Glamorgan gave them quite a scare before losing.
In this Metro Bank Cup One Day match, teenage Ben Kellaway had the Welsh County in striking distance of victory after hitting 67 off 41 balls until a massive controversy changed the course of the game in favour of the opponents. The Glamorgan hitter was sent on his way after Timm van der Gugten hit the ball towards the midwicket boundary, where Ethan Brookes successfully took the catch. However, TV footage shows that Brookes only just touched the boundary rope before releasing and regathering the ball.
They had 17 balls left when Kellaway, the final man out, was caught on the boundary off Barnard, leaving them 24 runs short. Kiran Carlson, Sam Northeast, and Billy Root all attempted half-centuries, but in vain.
Yates and Barnard’s opening partnership, which came within one run of setting a record opening partnership for Warwickshire across all of List A cricket, established the groundwork for Warwickshire’s impressive total. It goes without saying that the first partnership versus Glamorgan set a record. Barnard started off as the more aggressive of the two, but Yates soon caught up to him and passed his partner.
When Glamorgan skipper Carlson entered the game after a costly first two overs, their steady progress accelerated. While Carlson kept switching up his bowling lineup in an effort to make a breakthrough, Barnard and Yates were making calm progress by utilising the close Neath boundaries.
The bowler who finally struck when Barnard was caught by van der Gugten for 79 off 88 balls was Zain-ul-Hassan. This led to a brief mini-collapse, with Michael Burgess falling for just 7, and Yates being bowled out for 102 runs off 114 balls in just three overs.
As Warwickshire recovered from that slight setback, Will Rhodes served as a unifying factor, but more aggression was coming from the opposite side. Warwickshire scored 129 runs off its final 14 overs, with Brookes scoring 38 off 25 and Hamza Shaikh scoring 21 off 10. Rhodes was out for 44 off 45 balls immediately before the game ended.
With 3 for 56 off seven overs, teenager Kellaway continued his encouraging start to List A cricket, while Zain and Andy Gorvin each claimed two wickets.
With openers Thomas Bevan and Eddie Byrom both falling to Oliver Hannon-Dalby early as the opening bowler exploited his height to cause issues, Glamorgan’s innings could not have gotten off to a worse start.
As a result, Carlson and Sam Northeast were thrust into the fray, and Glamorgan’s prospects were always going to revolve around their alliance. Carlson made an early statement of purpose by quickly reaching his half-century off only 33 balls. The Glamorgan hundred was reached in the fifteenth over. The fact that Carlson was out for 61 came somewhat unexpectedly when Craig Miles made some movement and keeper Burgess dove to collect the low catch.
While Northeast and Root steadily advanced to 181 off 31 overs, the return of 6ft 8in Hannon-Dalby put an end to the former’s attempt over square leg since the extra bounce resulted in a top edge to fine leg. Root smashed an assured 56, but Kellaway gave his team the boost by launching a string of fours and sixes to increase the run rate. He batted 26 balls to reach a fine half-century, including four sixes.
Alex Horton, the wicketkeeper, appeared to be in fine shape for a quick 14 runs, and it took Brookes a world-class catch diving on the boundary to retire him. Van der Gugten’s disputed dismissal came and went, but there was no disputing the fact that Gorvin was clean bowled to give Hannan-Dalby his fourth wicket.
