MATCH RESULT - MIDDLESEX WIN BY 8 WICKETS
Glamorgan 136 all out
Middlesex 137/2
A Toby Roland-Jones hat-trick - the second suffered by Glamorgan in successive games - followed by a Steve Eskinazi half-century (51), guided second-placed Middlesex to an eight wicket win over bottom side Glamorgan in the Vitality Blast at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Glamorgan, fresh from being dismissed for 44 by Surrey at The Oval last night, got off to the worst possible start after being put in to bat, when Fakhar Zaman, on his home debut, was caught at short fine leg off Tom Helm from the final delivery of the first over.
David Lloyd, alongside captain Colin Ingram, offered some short term resistance before the latter skied one into the off-side off Toby Roland-Jones in the fifth over, before Glamorgan ended the powerplay on 31 for two.
Billy Root played with urgency from the outset, with an array of attacking strokes against leg-spinner Nathan Sowter, but he was undone on the drive, as he found Steven Finn at mid-off.
David Lloyd then drove to long-off in the twelfth over, leaving Glamorgan in some trouble at 75 for four, worsened when Owen Morgan played a soft pull to Mujeeb Ur Rahman, leaving them 89 for five in the fifteenth over.
Dan Douthwaite and Chris Cooke salvaged some respectability, with Cooke bludgeoning Tom Helm for a six over cow corner and two fours, one back past the bowler and the other through the covers. But he played aggressively once too often and was caught at long-on off Steven Finn in the eighteenth over at 120.
From there, Glamorgan were dismissed for 136 with three balls of the innings remaining. They lost their seventh wicket in the penultimate over, when Graham Wagg skied to Finn off Helm. A Roland-Jones hat-trick rounded off the innings, as debutant Dan Lincoln took two impressive catches and substitute James Harris took the other.
Chasing the relatively modest total of 137, Middlesex were given a let-off in the final over of the powerplay, when Stevie Eskinazi was dropped on the mid-wicket boundary by Fakhar Zaman, as they reached 50 without loss, needing just 87 more runs to win.
Eskinazi reached his half-century from 28 deliveries, including seven fours and two sixes, before he was caught behind off Dan Douthwaite at the end of the ninth over, the score having reached 75.
Three overs later, Middlesex, on 88, lost only their second wicket when Dan Lincoln found Lukas Carey at fine-leg off Marchant de Lange for eight, but they only required another 49 to win from 8.4 overs.
Max Holden, dropped by Billy Root on 17, and Dawid Malan saw the visitors to a comfortable victory as some sloppy fielding kicked in for a deflated Glamorgan side, who are still chasing their first win of the competition.
THE TURNING POINT: Glamorgan’s batting woes continued as two early wickets in the powerplay stifled any momentum they could have looked to gain.
:: DELIVERY (OR) SHOT OF THE MATCH: Chris Cooke’s lofted drive for four past Tom Helm mid-innings. A special mention, though, for Dan Douthwaite and Owen Morgan’s respective sixes to cow corner
::THE UNSUNG HERO: Dan Lincoln, who took an outstanding low, diving one-handed catch on the boundary two days after being contracted for the Vitality Blast
:: WHAT’S NEXT: Glamorgan will be looking to make home advantage count when they face Gloucestershire at Cardiff next Thursday, by which time they will hopefully have signed Australian Marcus Stoinis, while Middlesex host Kent at Lord’s.
Match reports provided by ECB Reporters Network.
Glamorgan
Middlesex
