Essex v Glamorgan
Vitality Blast
The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford
Friday 07 June 2024 | 7:00pm
Team News:
Essex: Adam Rossington+, Dean Elgar, Michael Pepper, Jordan Cox, Paul Walter, Matt Critchley, Daniel Sams, Simon Harmer*, Shane Snater, Luc Benkenstein, Aaron Beard.
Glamorgan: Eddie Byrom, Kiran Carlson*, Sam Northeast, Marnus Labuschagne, Colin Ingram, Chris Cooke+, Dan Douthwaite, Timm van der Gugten, Andy Gorvin, Mason Crane, Jamie McIlroy.
Match Details:
Umpires: Mark Newell & Paul Pollard
Match Referee: Dean Cosker
Toss: Essex won the toss and chose to bowl
Result: Essex won by two wickets
Scorecard: View Here
Match Reaction: Luc Benkenstein
Match Highlights
Match Report
Luc Benkenstein displayed a maturity beyond his years to star with the bat as Essex fought back to record a nail-biting two-wicket win over Glamorgan at The Cloud County Ground.
Benkenstein hit 35 and Shane Snater made 20 as Essex, having earlier suffered a middle-order stumble, valiantly sealed their second Vitality Blast victory in a row by chasing down Glamorgan’s 166-8.
Colin Ingram top-scored for the visitors with a fifty, while Daniel Sams and Paul Walter equally shared six wickets.
The chase was very far from straightforward, but a thoroughly admirable late effort from Snater and Benkenstein was enough to tick off the runs and see the Eagles over the line with a little more than one over to spare.
Having chosen to allow the Welsh visitors first use of the pitch, Daniel Sams made an immediate impact when he bowled Eddie Byrom for a five-ball duck as the opener attempted to scoop.
That was the highlight of a wicket maiden to kick-start proceedings, and the hosts enjoyed a dominant powerplay, restricting Glamorgan to just 31 runs off the opening six overs.
Within that, another wicket fell, with Sam Northeast departing for five via a Matt Critchley catch at short third off the bowling of the returning Shane Snater.
Glamorgan’s apparent inability to time the ball continued to afflict them, as it took until the end of the ninth over, and two Marnus Labuschagne swept fours, until the scoreboard showed 50.
Indeed, they were still scoring at less than a run per ball at the ten-over mark, as Simon Harmer rotated his attack frequently to restrict them to 58-2 at exactly halfway.
Two sixes from captain Kiran Carlson did provide some impetus, but the return of Critchley for his third over put the brakes back on as Carlson top-edged to Luc Benkenstein running behind square for 36.
Walter then continued to turn the screw as he did for Labuschagne, with the Australian star offering up a catch to a diving Jordan Cox at mid-off to depart for a 27-ball 34.
That brought big-hitting South African Ingram to the crease, and he did provide the lift Glamorgan were desperately searching for with a series of boundaries to haul the score past 100.
He ended up striking 52 from 29, adding 48 with the similarly pugnacious Chris Cooke before the latter skied Sams to Benkenstein in the 18th over.
Two further wickets, those of Dan Douthwaite and Timm van der Gugten – both caught – bookended Walter’s last over, with Glamorgan still short of 150.
They did sneak past that milestone in Sams’ final over as Ingram went to fifty, but his wicket ensured the Eagles ended the stronger, restricting the visitors to what felt like a significantly below-par total.
Byrom’s tough evening then continued to kick off the Essex chase, as he shelled a Dean Elgar flick at fine leg and allowed the ball through for the hosts’ first boundary.
From there, Adam Rossington demonstrated exactly how a powerplay should work, blasting van der Gugten’s opening over for 19 and following up with a further big pulled maximum off Jamie McIlroy.
The Essex 50, brought up a full four overs faster than the counterpart one in the first innings, was followed up by a rare passage of four overthrows to result in five runs coming off one ball.
It all combined to give the hosts a barnstorming start to the chase as the powerplay totalled 73, and Michael Pepper picked up where he had left off against Middlesex to keep the momentum going.
He was unperturbed by the loss of Rossington for 48, caught on the straight boundary by Jamie McIlroy off Labuschagne for a fiery 24-ball 48 that included three sixes, and Cox, to hit six boundaries.
The Eagles did, however, have work still to do when Pepper was bowled by Crane for 31 from just 14 and Walter followed at the hands of Labuschagne.
Snater and Benkenstein looked to get the chase back on course, and bit-by-bit, they did so, allowing more freedom as their partnership built.
On a night of the highest tension, the Eagles were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief when Benkenstein, after several balls of hesitance, lifted Labuschagne for the winning runs in the 19th over.
The Eagles Have Landed: The 2024 Vitality Blast at The Cloud County Ground
Fresh from a Finals Day appearance last summer, Essex are now back in Vitality Blast action for 2024.
Demand remains exceptionally high, and two out of the five remaining home matches are already sold out.
With the Eagles aiming to go one better in 2024, there is no time to waste to snap up your seats.
Friday 14 June, 7:00pm: Essex v Sussex Sharks – SOLD OUT
Thursday 20 June, 7:00pm: Essex v Hampshire Hawks – buy here
Friday 05 July, 7:00pm: Essex v Somerset – SOLD OUT
Thursday 11 July, 7:00pm: Essex v Kent Spitfires – buy here
Sunday 14 July, 2:30pm: Essex v Surrey – buy here
