Carlson leads Glamorgan to first cup final success
Who was unwanted by Welsh Fire, scores quick 82
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Glamorgan won their first cup final when they defeated Durham by 58 runs last night. They have won three County Championships, and three limited-overs competitions, but this was their first triumph in a final and forms part of their commendable revival.
The county 50-over competition was downgraded to make room for the Hundred to take precedence, but staging it in the absence of many first-teamers was still worthwhile. One batsman to make his mark in the final was Kiran Carlson, the Glamorgan captain, who graduated from Cardiff university only this summer. The 23-year-old was not wanted by Welsh Fire but lit up the Welsh county’s innings by scoring 82 off 59 balls with a rich array of strokes, then captained calmly as Durham were bowled out with 4.5 overs unused.
Glamorgan were going like trains at 157 for two, such was Carlson’s quickness of hand and foot, to the extent that a two-over spell by Luke Doneathy had cost 22 and another by Durham’s captain Scott Borthwick cost 23. Durham were creaking when Borthwick brought back Matty Potts, who responded as though he, like Carlson, might have an international future.
Having finished with Northern Superchargers, Potts spurred his native county on with three wickets in two overs. He tied down Nick Selman, who skied a pull; trapped Billy Root as he let his head fall across to the off side, as his balanced brother would never do; and capped Durham’s comeback by having
Carlson caught trying a steer. Glamorgan were suddenly 160 for five and in danger of burning out as 20.1 overs remained.
The game then tilted back to Glamorgan, permanently, as they scored 136 off those remaining overs. A succession of T20 cameos presented Durham with a target that was 17 runs higher than the one they had chased down in their semi-final to defeat Surrey.
Durham, at their halfway point of 25 overs, were almost out of the contest at 99 for four. Andrew Salter took three wickets in his first 26
balls, including an off-break that bowled Alex Lees off stump, much as Moeen Ali had dismissed Ravi Jadeja at Lord’s. He was chosen as player of the match, although arguably Carlson was.
Glamorgan were not alone in drawing some of their players from the southern hemisphere. Durham were given a launch pad by Cameron Bancroft and Sean Dickson, who both made face-saving fifties. Bancroft, who had earlier taken a right-handed catch at full stretch behind the wickets, was dropped after two Tests of the 2019 Ashes but
he looked in good order, perhaps worthy of a recall this winter.
The attendance was 7,296 – about half Trent Bridge’s capacity and half that of recent 50-over cup finals at Lord’s. The organisers were probably not alone in never having considered that Durham and Glamorgan would contest this final. The last direct trains to the North East and Cardiff would have departed had the game gone the full distance, and most spectators sounded as though they were neutral.
The trouble with downgrading the 50-over domestic competition is that players will grow up without being versed in the format, and England’s hold on the World Cup will become looser. Top-order 50-over batting should involve going up steadily through the gears to make a century, then cracking on to raise the run-rate; and large partnerships too, for the same reason.
But the evidence of this final was that building an innings is going out of fashion in favour of briefer, T20type hitting. To give this competition due weight, it should be staged in April and May with all the best players available.