Sussex's T20 struggles continue at Cardiff

Glamorgan continued their remarkable form in the NatWest T20 Blast at the SSE SWALEC against Sussex with a win that extended their undefeated run in the competition to seven matches.
Nuwan Kulasekara took four wickets for Sussex in Cardiff / Picture by Phil WestlakeNuwan Kulasekara took four wickets for Sussex in Cardiff / Picture by Phil Westlake
Nuwan Kulasekara took four wickets for Sussex in Cardiff / Picture by Phil Westlake

A 55-ball 81 from David Lloyd set up a total that was about par on a slow Cardiff pitch, but it was made to look a lot more valuable than that when Glamorgan’s Dutch bowler Timm van der Gugten ripped apart the Sussex top order at the start of the Sussex chase.

The defeat left Sussex still third with 10 points but they now have only four games left to secure a last-eight spot.

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The story of Glamorgan’s season has been the coming of age of David Lloyd. He made his third first-class hundred of the season against these same opponents on Wednesday and here he continued that fine run of form. He looked all set to pass his career best T20 score of 97 not out made against Kent this season but he fell in the 17th over. He mistimed a pull shot off Chris Jordan and the ball looped up for a simple catch for Phil Salt.

Lloyd shared decent partnerships with Colin Ingram and Jacques Rudolph, but he was the most impressive Glamorgan batsman by a distance.

The next highest score was Rudolph with 24 who had dropped himself down to four in the order as he searches for a return to form. Rudolph had looked very well set in this innings, at one point hitting a massive six off Chris Nash that is now residing at the bottom of the River Taff.

Just when hit appeared that he might make his first truly significant T20 contribution of 2016 he drilled a ball from Nuwan Kulasekara - who claimed four wickets - to Luke Wright in the covers.

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A four over spell from England bowler’s Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills in the final overs prevented Glamorgan from getting a truly daunting total. Mills was particularly impressive as he took two wickets for three runs in his two overs at the death. He bowled with pace and with accuracy showing why he made his England bow this week.

Glamorgan stumbled to a total of 159-8, but it ended up being more than enough as the ever more impressive Timm van der Gugten took three wickets in three overs at the start of the Sussex innings to leave them 22-3 in the seventh over.

With the Sussex top order gone the run rate just kept going up, but a partnership between Ross Taylor and Matt Machan that was worth 37 gave Sussex some hope. When both of those men fell within seven balls of each other any feint hopes of an away win were gone.

With that partnership broken it became a procession of Sussex wickets as they finished on 113 all out. Michael Hogan, Craig Meschede and Graham Wagg picked up two wickets. Shaun Tait bowled very fast on his return to Glamorgan after his brief spell with the club in 2010 but he was the only seamer to go wicketless.

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But the star was Van der Gugten who finished with figures of 4-17, his second four wicket haul in T20 cricket this season.

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