Glamorgan Men v Essex Men
Vitality Blast
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Friday 06 June 2025 | 6pm start
Team News
Glamorgan Men: Kiran Carlson (c), Will Smale, Ben Kellaway, Colin Ingram, Chris Cooke (wk), Asa Tribe, Dan Douthwaite, Timm van der Gugten, Mason Crane, Andy Gorvin, Jamie McIlroy.
Essex Men: Adam Rossington (wk), Dean Elgar, Michael Pepper, Paul Walter, Matt Critchley, Charlie Allison, Luc Benkenstein, Simon Harmer (c), Shane Snater, Sam Cook, Mohammad Amir.
Match Details
Umpires: Naeem Ashraf & Hassan Adnan
Match Referee: Simon Hinks
Scorers: Andrew Hignell & Paul Parkinson
Toss: Glamorgan won the toss and elected to bowl
Result: Glamorgan won by 6 wickets
Match Reaction: Chris Silverwood
Match Highlights
Match Report
Essex were left still searching for a first win of the Vitality Blast campaign after falling to a six-wicket defeat against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens, despite a standout 60 from Michael Pepper.
Pepper’s blistering 30-ball innings — featuring five sixes — helped Essex post a strong total of 183-6, but Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson produced a match-winning 93 to steer the hosts to victory with five balls remaining.
After being put in to bat with rain looming, Essex began cautiously. Timm van der Gugten opened tightly for Glamorgan, conceding just three runs in the first over. Adam Rossington fell early, but a composed 58-run stand between Dean Elgar and Pepper helped shift momentum back towards the visitors.
Pepper lit up the innings with clean, aggressive striking to record his second half-century of the tournament, with Elgar chipping in with a useful knock before both were dismissed by Ben Kellaway. The young spinner proved expensive, but he struck at key moments, removing Elgar and then Pepper after back-to-back sixes.
The innings lost a touch of rhythm from there, with Matt Critchley and Charlie Allison (21 off 14) playing a short cameo that included two maximums. Essex managed to find late runs, but Dan Douthwaite’s wide-yorker strategy kept them in check at the death, aside from a slightly wayward final over.
In defence of their 183, Essex made a decent start with the ball, but were soon under pressure as Glamorgan’s openers, Carlson and Will Smale, added 91 for the first wicket. While Smale made 43, it was Carlson who took the game away, finding gaps and clearing the ropes with ease.
Elgar dropped Smale at deep cover before taking a near-identical catch in the same over to dismiss him, but the breakthrough came too late. Kellaway added a quick burst of boundaries, and although Essex continued to take wickets at the other end, Carlson remained composed in his pursuit of a second T20 century.
With 42 needed from the final six overs, Carlson struck two towering sixes off Simon Harmer to all but seal the result. His eventual dismissal to a brilliant diving catch from Pepper came with just 10 required, and Glamorgan crossed the line shortly after through Chris Cooke and Asa Tribe.
Essex showed signs of promise with the bat but will now look to regroup ahead of the next fixture at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground on Sunday against Middlesex in the hope of converting strong positions into a much-needed win.
Purchase your Essex Double Header tickets!
Our next double header at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground comes against Hampshire Hawks and Glamorgan on Thursday 12 June.
The Essex Women will face Hampshire Hawks Women at 2:30pm before the Men take on Glamorgan at 6:30pm.
Tickets are still available via our Ticket Site, so have a browse and get your Vitality Blast T20 tickets booked.
