Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Howell’s five-wicket haul in vain as rain wins
JUST 15.3 overs of play were possible in the Vitality Blast match between Gloucestershire and Glamorgan in Cheltenham yesterday afternoon.
The hosts won the toss and invited Glamorgan to bat first in what was an unexpectedly prompt start at 2.30pm, with rain forecast for the remainder of the match.
An unchanged Welsh side, beaten by Somerset on Thursday evening, got off to a solid start thanks to David Lloyd, who struck a series of boundaries off David Payne and Matt Taylor early on.
However, his opening partner Jeremy Lawlor, fresh from an impressive 43 against Somerset, holed out to long-on in the third over off Payne, who claimed a rarely seen T20 wicket-maiden.
Colin Ingram continued the onslaught initially, dispatching Ryan Higgins for four and six in the fourth over and, after launching AJ Tye for six over square-leg into the hospitality marquee, he was caught at cover from the next delivery as Glamorgan ended the powerplay on 44 for two.
Only one more delivery was possible before a rain break, and Lloyd was caught at third man off Benny Howell for 21.
After a 40-minute delay, Gloucestershire continued to pile the pressure on Glamorgan as Owen Morgan was run out without facing a ball, leaving the Welsh side in deep trouble at 44 for four.
Chris Cooke dispatched a series of shots to the boundary before Howell bowled him off the inside edge, before also dismissing Billy Root leg before in his next over.
In his fourth and final over, Howell struck twice to remove Dan Douth
waite and Graham Wagg, both caught on the leg-side drive by Jack Taylor, as he finished his allocation with five for 18.
However, another big downpour brought proceedings to a stop once more at 96 for eight, and the match was abandoned shortly before 5pm.
Glamorgan will be relieved to have salvaged a point, but have now failed to register a win in their first two matches.
They play Surrey at the Oval next Thursday, while Gloucestershire, in their second match of the summer, play Middlesex at Cheltenham on the same day.
Reflecting on his five for 18 in four overs, Howell said: “The catching, which was very good, really helped me. I managed to get the ball in the right areas.
“We were looking good to win the match, but the weather came at the wrong time.”
Tom Banton says Somerset will get better with time – despite starting their Vitality Blast campaign with an eight-wicket victory at Glamorgan on Thursday evening.
Banton, who top-scored with 64 as the West county took a comfortable win, said: “My mindset was to go out there and slog – and it came off.
“Batting with Babar (Azam) was an experience. He calmed me down and everything went well.
“We were a bit patchy with the ball, but we have not had much practice with the white ball recently. With more practice we should get better.”
Somerset play their second match of the Blast away to Kent today.