Van der Gugten optimistic as Glamorgan win ‘Battle of the Bridge’ against Gloucestershire

Glamorgan 183-5 (20 overs): Northeast 60*, van der Gugten 38; T Smith 2-20. 

Gloucestershire 151-8 (20 overs): Charlesworth 45, Walter 43; Hatzoglou 3-23, van der Gugten 2-25, R Smith 2-29. 

Glamorgan (2pts) won by 32 runs 

The Dutchman’s fine display with both bat and ball helped kickstart Glamorgan’s Vitality T20 blast campaign after three defeats on the trot had threatened to de-rail any further progress out of the group stages. 

The home side, ravaged with injuries, would show character and fighting spirit to bounce back with a strong team performance to keep their qualification hopes alive. Van der Gugten’s heavy hitting for a swift 38 off 19 balls, including four huge sixes in the closing stages of Glamorgan’s innings, was particularly eye-catching and the decisive difference between the two sides. 

Glamorgan will though also be in debt to an anchoring innings from Sam Northeast (60*) who carried his bat on a pitch with slightly more in it for the bowlers than in recent weeks where totals have passed 200. 

After the early loss of captain Kiran Carlson and makeshift opener Prem Sisodiya, Northeast and Billy Root (36) steadied the ship through the powerplay to leave the innings finally balance at 60-2.  

Tom Smith’s dismissal of both Root and later Chris Cooke for 28 seemed to have swung the game back in the visitor’s favour, but the big-hitting van der Gugten’s power would be emphatic in guiding his side to a healthy 183-5 off the home side’s 20 overs. 

Despite losing captain Miles Hammond early to Ruaidri Smith, the visitors started brightly matching Glamorgan’s run rate through the powerplay with no further losses of wickets. 

Spin duo Sisodiya and Peter Hatzoglu though would stem the run flow and got the breakthrough with the former tempting opener Grant Roelofsen (33) into one too many big shots when well set. 

Hatzoglou then bamboozled new man Ben Wells, bowling him for 15 and claimed the key wicket of Ben Charlesworth (45) in a damaging mid-innings spell. 

With the run rate rising, Gloucester never threatened to challenge Glamorgan’s total and once the big-hitting Graeme van Buuren departed as one of van der Gugten’s two wickets in as many balls the visitors hopes were all but over as Glamorgan comfortably defended out their lead. 

“We obviously have lost the last couple of games, so it was nice to get out there and get a win. Hopefully, it is the start of something, and we can get out there and get a bit of a run and push towards the quarter-finals,” said van der Gugten. 

“We’ve always said even though the wicket here recently has been high scoring, we realised earlier here that it probably wasn’t going to be one of those 200 is a par score, it was more of a 170. I think then anything over that we would be pretty happy with. 

“The foundations that Bill [Root] started off with was great. For Sammy [Northeast] to bat through the innings and be a bit of an anchor was very important. 

“I was told to go and hit it as hard and as far as I can. There’s not a great deal of logic that goes into it and lucky enough it came off a bit today and we posted a pretty decent total today on that wicket. 

“They came out and had a pretty good partnership. I think they were always in the game until probably the last three or four overs. I think it wasn’t quite like the other wickets we have been playing on and there was a little bit more in it for the bowlers.  

“The way Macca [Jamie Mcllroy] and Ruaidri [Smith] have been bowing recently, especially at the death has been World class and obviously Pete [Hatzoglou] bowled really well in the middle there to stem the flow. Once you get a few wickets it is quite hard to stick up with the rate. 

“I’m really happy with the win and hopefully it can be the start of a few more.” 

Glamorgan are next in action in the T20 against second placed Surrey in at the Kia Oval on Tuesday evening (6.30pm).

(Lead image: Glamorgan CC)