Birmingham Bears put together accomplished display to beat Glamorgan

The Bears’ batsmen showed a disciplined approach, with all their batsmen playing useful innings - this after their five-man attack had restricted the home batsmen to a below par score

Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 140-9 v Birmingham Bears 141-4 - Birmingham win by six wickets

Scorecard

There were seven balls remaining when the Birmingham Bears won their first T20 Blast game of the summer, but Glamorgan will rue the fact that no one supported their captain Chris Cooke (72) in a disappointing total of 140 for 9.

The Bears’ batsmen showed a more disciplined approach, with all their batsmen playing useful innings - this after their five-man attack had restricted the home batsmen to a below par score.

Chasing a moderate 141 to win, Birmingham lost an early wicket when Prem Sisodyia, Glamorgan’s left arm spinner, dismissed Ed Pollock with his second ball, but Adam Hose soon made his intentions clear, by striking Andrew Salter for four then lofting the off-spinner over long-on for six.

After he was dropped in the gully on 14, Hose continued to play freely on both sides of the wicket, and with the 38-year-old old Ian Bell in his usual sublime form, the second wicket pair continued to dominate.

They had put on 64 in 8.2 overs, before Glamorgan made the next breakthrough, when Marchant De Lange bowled Hose. Then, in the following over Bell was mortified to see a long hop from Salter end up in deep midwicket’s hands.

The Bears were well placed at the halfway stage, and with five overs remaining, needed a further 35 to win, but after losing Will Rhodes for 16, the run rate increased and eighteen were needed from the final two overs.

Tim Van Der Gugten deivered the penultimate over and was plundered for 22 by Sam Hain and Michael Burgess, including a six from a no ball to end the game.

^{Chris Cooke fought a lone hand for Glamorgan}

Glamorgan, who elected to bat, were soon in trouble, losing their first wicket to Olly Stone’s first ball and the seventh of the innings, and at the end of the first powerplay were 45 for 3. Stone, in only his second competitive game of the season, bowled within himself, and claimed two wickets in the innings.

Cooke had rescued his team the previous day, top scoring with an unbeaten half century, and much depended on him if Glamorgan were to set the opposition a challenging total. While his teammates found ways of getting themselves out – two were caught on the mid-wicket boundary, Cooke was selective in his shot selection.

Jake Lintott, a 27-year-old left-arm spinner, who has played only four previous T20 games with Hampshire, and was making his Bears debut, made the most of a slow pitch with some turn, and ended with the excellent figures of 1 for 13 from his four overs.

Jeetan Patel, the veteran off-spinner, and in his final season, wasn’t so effective, conceding 36 runs, including two sixes, but the other Bears bowlers stuck to their task, while their fielders gave little away.

Cooke continued to plunder the attack, and when he was out in the final over, he had struck 72 from 56 balls, which included three sixes and five fours. Such was his dominance, no other Glamorgan batsman, apart from Dan Douthwaite, with 15, reached double figures.

Batting has been Glamorgan’s problem this season, and in this competition they will miss Colin Ingram, who is stranded in South Africa, and their influential all-rounder David Lloyd, who has broken his foot.

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