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Ned stars on return as Glamorgan win thriller
Will Smeed made 72 from 49 balls but it was former Somerset seamer Ned Leonard who grabbed the headlines by claiming five wickets as Glamorgan came out on top in this Vitality Blast clash at the Cooper Associates County Ground.
Leonard claimed five for 25 as the visitors claimed a dramatic two-run win in a match that went right down to the very last ball.
Somerset skipper Lewis Gregory won the toss and elected to field.
The home side made an early breakthrough with just seven runs on the board when William Smale miscued the third ball of the second over, bowled by Matt Henry, miles into the Taunton sky. Craig Overton, making his 100th T20 appearance for the Club did the rest, taking a good catch on the run over his shoulder.
Henry struck again with the second ball of the fourth over. Max Horton looked to go big but a tumbling Riley Meredith took the catch on the boundary in front of Gimblett’s Hill to leave the visitors on 22 for two.
Lewis Goldsworthy was brought into the attack to bowl the eighth over and he struck with his second delivery.
Kiran Carlson attempted to put the Somerset spinner into the Somerset Stand but he didn’t quite get all of it and Tom Abell took a stunning diving catch on the run on the boundary to reduce the visitors to 49 for three.
Gregory thought he’d taken a wicket when Ben Kellaway top edged high into the afternoon sky and Tom Banton ran back to take a simple catch but the umpire signaled a wide.
Kellaway’s reprieve was short-lived though. He fell just three balls later. Goldsworthy changed ends and the Glamorgan batter reverse swept straight to Tom Kohler-Cadmore at 75 for four in the 11th.
Riley Meredith came on to bowl at the River End and his fifth delivery trapped Asa Tribe for room, found the edge and Tom Banton did the rest behind the stumps.
With wickets falling all around him, Colin Ingram continued to play an intelligent innings, punishing anything not on the mark, and he went to his 50 with a big six off Meredith into Gimblett’s Hill.
Perhaps inspired by his more experienced teammate, Dan Douthwaite dispatched a Ben Green full toss back over the bowlers head into the River Tone.
Ben Green came on to bowl the 18th over and, as he so often does, took a vital wicket at the death. Ingram was the victim on this occasion, his impressive inning of 55 from 33 deliveries coming to an end when he top edged straight to substitute fielder, Josh Davey.
Douthwaite helped himself to 22 runs off the penultimate over, bowled by Gregory, to take the visitors past the 150 mark. He then went to his half century with a six into the lower tier of the Colin Atkinson Pavilion.
The 28-year-old was run out off the last ball of the innings to finish on 56 from 32 balls as Glamorgan closed on 176 for seven.
Henry was the pick of the Somerset attack, taking two for 15 from his four overs.
Chasing 177 for victory, Somerset openers Smeed and Tom Banton shared a stand of 25 before Leonard claimed a wicket on his return to Taunton in the fourth over. Banton (12) was the batter to go when he got a leading edge straight to Andy Gorvin at mid off.
Determined to show his former side what they were missing, Leonard then accounted for Tom Kohler-Cadmore (7). The S0merset batter looked to give himself room and was bowled around his legs.
At the end of the powerplay the home side were 41 for two. That soon became 44 for three when Douthwaite took a superb diving catch off his own bowling to remove Abell for 0.
Smeed and Sean Dickson then began to hit out and by the halfway stage of the reply the score had moved to 77 for three. Dickson in particular took a liking to Kellaway and deposited him into the top tier of the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion.
The 50 partnership arrived from just 27 balls but Dickson perished for 27 (from 17), caught on the boundary off Gorvin at 97 for four.
Smeed, who passed the 2000-run mark in T20 cricket during his innings, went to 50 from 35 deliveries but with the score on 100 he lost another partner when Gregory (2) was caught behind off Leonard.
A six from Smeed took Somerset to 150 and brought up the 50 partnership with Ben Green from 31 balls.
Smeed’s outstanding innings came to an end on 72 from 49 balls at 153 for six when he picked out Smale on the boundary in front of the Colin Atkinson Pavilion. Green then (27) perished without further addition to the total when he skied Leonard to Carlson at cover.
Overton then found Kellaway in front of the Ondaatje Pavilion to give Leonard his fifth.
16 were needed off the final over and although 13 runs came from the final six balls, despite Henry getting run out off the penultimate delivery, it was just a step too far for the hosts.
