Hants Blast Glam to keep hopes alive

HAMPSHIRE smashed their way to a remarkable six-wicket win over Glamorgan to keep alive their quarter-final hopes in Vitality Blast.

Knowing they had to reach their target of 185 in 14 overs, D’arcy Short hammered 69 off 30 as Hampshire raced home in only 13.

Joe Weatherley crashed 43 not out off 13 balls to seal it.

Glamorgan posted 184-4 thanks to 78 from Marnus Labuschagne and 52 from David Lloyd.

The result left Hampshire hoping that either Sussex or Gloucestershire lose their evening games.

It had seemed a creditable batting performance from a visiting side who had misfired badly for most of the competition.

Labuschagne and Lloyd opened up with a second-wicket stand of 92 in 9.2 overs with both men striking the ball ferociously, Lloyd clearing the ropes four times and Labuschagne hitting six sixes.

Colin Ingram (24) could not get going but Dan Douthwaite smashed 21 off 8 balls to take Glamorgan’s run-rate up to 9.2.

But Short launched into all the Glamorgan bowlers with the fastest 50 ever scored against the Welsh county, in an incredible century stand with James Vince (39 off 21 balls) inside eight overs.

Short eventually holed out off the bowling of Andrew Salter for 69 off 30 balls including five sixes, but it was too late to change the result.

Weatherley came in and hammered four maximums himself, with the Glamorgan bowlers left shell-shocked as they crashed to their ninth loss in 12 games.

Glamorgan were not helped by a hand injury to David Lloyd which saw him go off after spilling a difficult boundary chance, one of several missed by Glamorgan.