Sam Northeast Labelled The Special One As Glamorgan Make It Two Trophies In Four Years

Kiran Carlson of Glamorgan lifts the Metro Bank One Day Cup. Pic: Getty Images.

Sam Northeast Labelled The Special One As Glamorgan Make It Two Trophies In Four Years

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By Gareth James

Sam Northeast has been hailed as Glamorgan’s matchwinner after the batsman’s vital contribution ensured the county lifted the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.

Northeast hit 63 not out as Glamorgan beat Somerset in the final at Trent Bridge to lift the trophy for the second time in four years.

It may have become the least heralded of cricket’s domestic competitions and it may have been a final reduced to 20 over-a-side because of rain, but that won’t bother Glamorgan.

On a gloomy reserve day at Trent Bridge that mercifully stayed dry long enough for them to lift the trophy, Glamorgan outplayed their opponents to emerge as deserving winners.

Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson said: “This competition’s been about getting it done when we really needed to.

“We’ve got a nice mix of experience and a few younger guys, but Sam showed why he’s such a great player. He got us up to a challenging score.

“The atmosphere was a bit strange. It felt like we were back in Covid times, but it was nice when the fans started singing towards the end.

“(The small crowd) is a shame. Yesterday would have been an unbelievable atmosphere, but we’ve still won a trophy and brought it back for the fans.”

“A few of us were taken aback when we saw the pitch with the covers off, we were a bit wary. But I’m flabbergasted we managed to get a game with the weather radar yesterday.

“We’re just so pleased we did, so all credit to Trent Bridge and the ground staff.

In a match reduced in advance to 20-overs a side after Sunday’s total washout, overhauling Glamorgan’s 186 for 7 proved beyond Somerset as the Welsh county, who beat Durham to win the 50-over competition in 2021, came out on top by 15 runs, restricting Somerset to 171 for 6.

Northeast had anchored the Glamorgan innings with an unbeaten 63, while Billy Root added 39 off 27 balls, both hitting two sixes in a crucial fifth-wicket stand, Timm van der Gugten backing them up with 26 off just nine balls to bookend Will Smale’s 28 from 14 at the top of the innings.

Skipper Sean Dickson hammered 44 from just 20 balls after Andy Umeed’s 45 from 36 for Somerset, but after offspinner Ben Kellaway and seamer Andy Gorvin had taken two wickets each, Glamorgan’s Jamie Mcilroy and Dan Douthwaite held their nerve with two fine overs at the death to finish the job.

Beaten in the Vitality Blast final and knocked out of the race for the Vitality County Championship in the preceding nine days, the defeat left Somerset empty handed yet again.

The only disappointment for Glamorgan was that their moment of triumph was witnessed in the flesh by only a smattering of spectators on the ground rather than the thousands who had turned up on Sunday.

Man of the match Northeast said: “We haven’t played T20 for a while so it was strange and we didn’t know what a good score was.

“We thought we’d build a partnership and then try to accelerate once we had a platform.

“My key objective was to remain calm throughout the whole thing as I got used to the pitch. It was tough to start, but once you got used to the pitch you could build an innings.

“It’s been a long season, so to end with a trophy is great personally and for the team, there’ve been great efforts from everyone.”

Somerset captain Sean Dickson said:“They bowled better than us.

“I thought a fresh pitch would have offered something up top but our bowlers were sliding all over the place with the decision to bowl first, so we’ve just got to take our medicine and go forward.

“I was hugely optimistic while I was batting but cricket’s a funny game. It swings your way or it doesn’t, but credit to Glamorgan as they held their cool.

“You can’t say it’s a frustrating time for the club but the bottom line is that we’ve competed for three trophies. How many times can a club say that?

“We would have liked to win one or two trophies, but as a club we’ve just competed for three and we’ve got to be proud of the squad.”

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