Selman century arrives in the Nick of time for Welsh county
GLAMORGAN beat Durham with three balls remaining in a thrilling finish at Swansea for their first County Championship win of the season.
They were indebted to opener Nick Selman, who batted throughout the innings for 116 with 12 fours and three sixes – the last two coming from the first two balls of the final over of the Division Two clash as he scored the 14 runs still needed.
Durham added a further 118 to their overnight 158 for three in the morning session, although Paul Collingwood would have probably batted on after lunch had 16 overs not been lost to rain.
The Durham captain was undefeated on 92, and another eight runs would have seen him become the only Durham player to have twice scored two centuries in the same game.
Collingwood and Graham Clark shared a 102-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Clark, who struck a career-best first-class score of 72, feathered one from Michael Hogan to the wicketkeeper.
Ryan Pringle then added a further 81 with Collingwood before three wickets fell for six runs. Pringle hooked Hogan to fine leg, Paul Coughlin skied Andrew Salter to midon then Stuart Poynter, attempting to sweep Salter’s off-spin, was well caught by wicketkeeper Chris Cooke from a bottom edge.
Glamorgan, who needed to score at 5.2 runs an over, made a cautious start and openers Jacques Rudolph and Selman had reached 37 before Rudolph, in the final over before tea, was caught at leg slip attempting to reverse-sweep George Harding’s leftarm spin.
Glamorgan required a further 227 from the final 35.3 overs of the game and made their intentions clear by promoting Salter, who top-scored with 75 in the first innings with three sixes. However, Salter faced 15 balls before scoring his first run and though he twice drove Coughlin to the extracover boundary, he was soon out lbw to Pringle’s third ball.
Aneurin Donald and David Lloyd were also promoted ahead of Colin Ingram, who had scored five centuries in all competitions this season, with Donald striking 28 from 17 balls with six fours before he was caught off Harding. The left-arm spinner, making his Championship debut, struck again in the following over when Lloyd gave him a return catch.
With 20 overs remaining Glamorgan needed 157 to win and much depended on Ingram. He quickly attacked Harding, who was struck out of the ground over midwicket, while Selman reached his fifty from 89 balls.
The pair put on 73 in 10.3 overs before Ingram, who made 42 from 31 balls with two sixes and five fours, was caught behind off Pringle.
Cooke kept Glamorgan interested by striking both spinners for six in successive overs – the second disappearing in the direction of Swansea Bay – but with 44 required from 30 balls, Coughlin returned and with his fourth ball had Cooke caught at midwicket.
Will Bragg soon came and went and with two overs left, Glamorgan had much to do to score 24 runs from 12 balls, with eight fielders posted on the boundary.
Selman reached his second century of the season from 124 balls and with 14 needed from the last over, Selman hammered Coughlin’s first ball into the sightscreen and the second over the square leg boundary before pushing the third for two to win the game.