Comprehensive victories over Sussex and Essex over the weekend have brought Glamorgan back into the mix for qualification to the quarter-final stage of the Vitality Blast.

On Friday evening at Hove, Kiran Carlson’s 87 from just 47 balls drove Glamorgan to 235/6 before James McIlroy, Dan Douthwaite, Mason Crane, and Chris Sole took two wickets each to secure a 24 run victory.

Then on Sunday, Glamorgan welcomed Essex to Sophia Gardens, where Glammy’s leg-spin twins Crane and Marnus Labuschagne ripped through the Eagles middle over, after Timm van der Gugten dominated the powerplay.

A duo of wins over Glamorgan’s direct rivals for a top four spot has taken them from South Group also-rans to potential quarter-finalists thanks to a new found winning formula.

Bat first, squeeze in the field

At Hove, Glamorgan scored their third highest total in Blast history, owed in part to Carlson’s career-best 87, but also vital cameos from William Smale and Thomas Bevan, who scored 43 from 19 balls and 34 from 17, respectively.

The returning Colin Ingram also had time to prove his importance to this Glammy side, scoring 40, with seven boundaries and one six.

The South African overseas had taken the last few weeks off, missing his side’s two thrilling County Championship games, but returned with aplomb, also hitting 47 from 28 balls against Essex – Glammy’s top score.

The runs were shared around across the two wins: where Smale, Carlson, and Bevan succeeded on Friday, Ingram (47), Labsuchagne (30), and Chris Cooke (38) made good on Sunday.

Glamorgan backed up their batting efforts with some excellent fielding – a part of their game that has been consistently excellent this season, in spite of ups and downs with bat and ball.

Labsuchange’s stunning catches have taken the headlines, but Cooke’s work behind the stumps has been exemplary, and the injection of youth in the form of Smale, Bevan, and Kellaway has given the side some much-needed energy in the outfield.

Read More:

• Extraordinary Tie More Important Than Any Win For Glammy
• Chris Cooke: A Place In History, But Not Done Yet
• Glamorgan Awarded Tier 1 Women’s Team

Bowling Variety

Glamorgan have made good use of the different options they have available in the bowling ranks, and coach Grant Bradburn has not been afraid to chop and change, depending on conditions and ground dimensions.

At Hove, one of the smallest grounds in the country, new ball wickets are key, so McIlroy was preferred to van der Gugten, removing Harrison Ward in the second over. On Sunday, van der Gugten returned to the line-up with a point to prove, which he did with style: three wickets in his first two overs left Essex reeling at 27-3, a position they never recovered from.

Dan Douthwaite is tasked with the hard middle overs, with his array of slower balls proving to be difficult to get away, particularly with the long square boundaries at Sophia Gardens. New signing Chris Sole owns the death overs: hunting wickets at a respectable economy rate.

Dotted around the seamers is Glammy’s real strength: spin. Kellaway is an improving force as a powerplay option, while Crane continues to prove himself as one of England’s best white-ball leggies.

Crane is the sixth highest wicket-taker in the Blast this season with 14, and his economy rate of 7.64 is very low for a leg-spinner.

Where pitches are conducive to spin, captain Carlson can call upon Labuschagne and Ingram to steal more overs away from the opposition.

Work to do

In spite of these victories, Glamorgan are still outsiders in the South Group.

Before Friday’s win, Glammy had a poor record: two wins in eight games, with five defeats and a washout. These results have taken them from eighth to sixth in the table and only two points away from a top four place.

Their biggest obstacle is their poor net run rate (NRR). Currently, Glamorgan’s NRR stands at -0.844, with a significant gap to those above them: Gloucestershire (0.161), Essex (0.174), Somerset, (1.157), and Sussex (0.358).

Gloucestershire and Essex are catchable in this respect, but Glamorgan should plan to beat them by points, rather than relying on NRR in the final round of fixtures.

This means that Glammy will likely have to win at least three of their last four games to get a first top-four spot since 2017. If they can go on a run and win all four – not an outlandish proposition in T20 cricket – Glamorgan may earn themselves a top two finish and a home quarter-final at Sophia Gardens.

DragonBet gives Glammy odds of 33/1 to win the whole thing and, with the side showing signs of excellent form in recent matches, that price is starting to look very inviting!

Glamorgan’s remaining T20 Blast fixtures:

Glamorgan vs Middlesex, Sophia Gardens, Friday 12th July

Gloucestershire vs Glamorgan, Cheltenham, Sunday 14th July

Kent vs Glamorgan, Canterbury, Tuesday 16th July

Glamorgan vs Somerset, Sophia Gardens, Friday 19th July