At the end of a week which featured the last group fixtures, two so-called quarter-finals and two semis, next month’s Metro Bank Cup Final will involve Somerset and Glamorgan. Amidst much to-ing and fro-ing, the top three in each group were unchanged.
In Group A, Somerset took the direct route to the last four by defeating Middlesex and, crucially, Worcestershire. The latter lost again, in a nailbiting finale against Lancashire but, along with the equally inconsistent Hampshire, edged out Derbyshire only on net run rate.
In Group B, Glamorgan had been in pole position to top the group. In a vital clash at Leicester, they lost by only seven runs in a game which featured a second competition century from Peter Handscomb and a Tim van der Gugten five-for. However, was to be the Welsh side’s only loss so far. Warwickshire faltered in the final furlong but just did enough to resist a late challenge by Nottinghamshire.
With New Road on Hundred hosting duty, Worcestershire had to pop across to Edgbaston for a local derby quarter-final. Skipper Jake Libby continued his run of form with 112, but teenage Kai Smith’s unbeaten 130 saw Warwickshire progress with an over to spare. It was an even tighter affair at Grace Road. In a repeat of the 2023 final, a Nick Gubbins ton took Hampshire to a promising 290-8 but Leicestershire sneaked through from the penultimate delivery.
So to Sunday’s semis. Sod’s law, I thought, that the two best counties would slip up but it wasn’t to be. At Taunton, Somerset piled on a mighty 334-4, led by Lewis Goldsworthy’s 115 not out and a third successive rapid half-century by James Rew. The latter hasn’t kicked on from last year’s red-ball successes, but the 50-over stuff has rescued his summer nicely. The target was too much for Leicestershire, even with Handscpmb producing a third hundred of the competition.
Across the Bristol Channel in Cardiff, Glamorgan welcomed Warwickshire to Sophia Gardens. Their Group B encounter had been rained off so at least he fans had something to enjoy. Runs were relatively hard to come by, and it was only some late hitting by Dan Douthwaite which boosted the home county’s total to 247-9. Ed Barnard (4-34) was the pick of Warwickshire’s attack but he and his top order were soon struggling in reply. They sank to 66-6 as Douthweite, McIlroy, Gorvin and the masterly, miserly Timm van der Gugten (2-22) suced the energy out of the innings. Michael Burgess (85) was the only Bear to show his claws but they just weren’t sharp enough to win single-handedly.
In theory, Somerset could conceivably achieve a treble this season but that would require Surrey to suffer a Championship meltdown and the Cidermen to enjoy considerable luck in the T20 knockouts. On paper, the One-Day Cup climax with Glamorgan at Trent Bridge should favour Somerset but anything can happen and, of course, we are serial runners-up!
Team of the Week:- Hammond (Glo), Gubbins (Ham), Libby (Wor), Goldsworthy
(Som), Rew (Som +), Handscomb (Lei), K Smith (War), van der Gugten (Gla), Douthwaite
(Gla), Hill (Yor), Chahal (Nor)
