Twenty20 Cup - Midlands/West/Wales Division
Warwickshire (173-5) defeated Glamorgan (170-7) by three runs
Heath Streak held his nerve to see Warwickshire to their second successive victory and the top of the table in the Midlands,West and Wales Division of the Twenty20 Cup.
With several of his younger colleagues proving expensive, Streak claimed three wickets and put a break on the scoring just as Glamorgan appeared to be gaining the initiative. Mis-fields and a dropped chance did nothing to help him, but Streak bowled a tight line and length, kept the batsmen guessing with his variation and can count himself somewhat unfortunate not to break Brad Hogg's record of economical figures for the club in this competition: three for 12 from four overs.
Streak has not been at his best in championship cricket this season. Four games have realised just six wickets at nearly 40 apiece as he has struggled for form and fitness.
The decision to rest him for the last championship game against Worcestershire appears to have worked wonders, however. In each of the three games since, he has bowled with greater pace than at any time this season, suggesting that his body may no longer be up to the rigours of a full county season. Out of contract at the end of this year, his future at Edgbaston may well be as a limited-overs specialist.
Without Streak's cool head, Warwickshire may well have squandered a dominant position in this game. Their bowling and fielding showed signs of nerves in the dying overs as Mark Wallace led a late assault, with the visitors coming close to scoring the 34 they required from the final two overs.
The penultimate over, bowled by Neil Carter, cost 17 as Wallace (19 balls, two fours and two sixes) thrashed two sixes, but it was in Streak's final over that the nerves really showed. First, Wallace swept a full toss for four. Off the next delivery, Ian Westwood fumbled a ball in the outfield to allow Wallace to return for two, before Paul Harris dropped a tough chance at fine leg next ball and allowed another two. Though Wallace was then caught at long-on, the following delivery, a fine yorker, somehow eluded Tim Ambrose — immaculate all season — and escaped for four byes, leaving six needed from the final ball.
Streak was never going to allow that, however, and Ryan Watkins was only able to squeeze another quick, full, ball out to mid-wicket for a single.
Earlier, Warwickshire were once again grateful to Ambrose for providing some late impetus to their innings. The experiment of opening with Loudon failed again and though Jonathan Trott (40 balls) and Darren Maddy (25 balls) added 59 for the second wicket at a run-a-ball, the pace was too sedate to trouble the visitors.
Ambrose (19 balls, five fours and a six) and Tim Groenewald (25 balls, a four and three sixes) added 44 off the final three overs of the innings to take Warwickshire just out of reach of the visitors.
Together, they added 67 in 33 balls with Groenewald particularly harsh on the left-arm spin of Dean Cosker and Ambrose deploying a wonderful slash over extra cover that brought him several boundaries off the seamers.
Perhaps, if Glamorgan had taken their chances, the result would have been different. Twice they parried hard chances over the boundary for six, with Jim Troughton and Ambrose the beneficiaries, with Ambrose also surviving another chance that carried for four.
In reply Glamorgan seemed to have lost their way against Streak and Harris. They scored just 20 in five overs as the pair of international bowlers utilised all their skill and experience to slow the rate.
Damien Wright (14 balls, a four and three sixes) led the acceleration in mid-innings as Loudon, Groenewald and Maddy conceded 41 in three overs. The return of Streak proved decisive, however, and put Warwickshire just three wins away from a quarter-final spot. Last year five wins from eight games was enough to qualify.
Meanwhile Trott departs on England duty today. Warwickshire would love to replace him with Vaugh van Jaarsveld in tomorrow's game against Northants, but have yet to obtain a work permit for the young South African.
The club will make their case to the ECB in robust terms today, suggesting that their are gross inconsistencies in the governing body's treatment of this case.
Paul Harris, for example, was able to amend his work permit within 24 hours last season. The ECB insist that it is a matter for the Home Office, though the ECB's guidance is usually accepted without question.
Warwickshire may also re-think their use of Carter's batting. Loudon has yet to survive the first over in either of the games to date and it does seem somewhat wasteful not to utilise Carter's muscular method at the top of the order.
