Glamorgan 281 for 8 (Nicholls 70, Hope-Bell 58, van der Gugten 45, Gorvin25*) beat Worcestershire 278 for 9 (Libby 105, Cullen 77, Zain 4-58) by two wickets
Earlier, having won the toss and elected to bat, Worcestershire were reduced to 26 for 3 following a superb opening spell from Glamorgan medium-pacer Zain ul-Hassan (4 for 58), who removed the visitors’ top three inside the first ten overs.
But fresh from three consecutive hundreds, Libby again proved the architect of his side’s recovery, producing another masterclass in low-risk batting. Support initially came from Kashif Ali (40), before Henry Cullen added a career-best 77 alongside his skipper, the pair adding 153 runs for the fifth wicket.
Although few chances were created, the Rapids never managed to get away from Glamorgan, whose control was epitomised by a 12-over period between the 24th and 36th overs in which no boundaries were conceded. Their discipline was eventually rewarded when Libby, looking to increase the tempo after reaching three figures, holed out to Van der Gugten at mid-on off 19-year-old seamer Tom Edwards for 105 from 114 balls. The dismissal sparked a collapse of 5 for 29 as the innings closed on 278 for 9.
Glamorgan’s reply was stuttering at 46 for 3, but youngsters Hope-Bell and Nicholls batted with great maturity during their fourth-wicket stand of 118 before Hope-Bell fell for a classy 58, caught and bowled by Brett D’Oliveira. Nicholls followed soon after for 70, and when Dan Douthwaite fell at 225 for 7, Glamorgan’s hopes looked all but extinguished.
Van der Gugten responded with a flurry of boundaries, but 12 were still needed when he holed out to deep cover from the final ball of the penultimate over. But Gorvin, with 25 not out from 16 balls, was not to be denied this time, clipping left-armer Gibbon for four over square leg before scrambling a couple of twos. With two needed from the last, he edged through the vacant third-man region to seal a truly remarkable win.
