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Sam Northeast and Billy Root personal bests fail to see Glamorgan through

Billy Root swings away a pull shot Getty Images

Glamorgan 356 for 3 (Northeast 177*, Root 113*) beat Worcestershire 337 for 9 (Cox 84, Leach 63) by 19 runs

Sam Northeast and Billy Root re-wrote the record books as Glamorgan defeated Worcestershire Rapids by 19 runs at New Road but Glamorgan, the holders, just failed to reach the knockout stages.

Kent's last-over two wicket victory over Lancashire at Canterbury meant they advanced to the quarter-finals at Glamorgan's expense. Northeast hit his own and Glamorgan's List A best score of 177 not out from 148 balls with four sixes and 22 fours while Root equalled his best in this format by making 113 not out from 92 balls with seven sixes and six fours.

The pair plundered an unbroken 245 from just 28 overs as Glamorgan amassed 356-3 from 50 overs after being put into bat. It was Glamorgan's record fourth wicket partnership in List A cricket, surpassing the 234 by Root and Chris Cooke against Gloucestershire at Bristol three years ago.

Northeast went past his previous best 132 versus Somerset in 2014 and the Glamorgan record of 169 by Jacques Rudolph against Sussex in the same year.

Worcestershire were powerless to halt the flood of runs and Root struck five sixes in the penultimate over from Dillon Pennington, the third of which brought up his century.

They made a brave reply with captain Jake Libby, Joe Leach and Ben Cox all hitting half centuries but were always struggling to reach the required rate and closed on 337 for nine, their sixth defeat in eight games.

The home side handed a senior debut to Scotland international spinner, Olly Davidson, the third member of their 2021-2022 Academy intake to be bloodied in the competition after Henry Cullen and Reeve Evitts.

Glamorgan were without Colin Ingram who has linked up with Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League and he was replaced by Sam Northeast.

Rapids captain, Jake Libby, put Glamorgan into bat on a used hybrid pitch under cloudy skies and Joe Leach made two early breakthroughs. Tom Bevan had a let off on four when he was dropped at first slip off Dillon Pennington but it was not a costly miss for the home side.

The opener added only six more before he played a loose shot off the back foot and was caught behind off Leach.

It became 16 for two when Glamorgan keeper batter, Chris Cooke, pushed forward and was bowled by a delivery which nipped away. Leach and Pennington posed plenty of problems with the new ball and conceded only 27 runs in the initial powerplay.

But Kiran Carlson and Northeast upped the tempo as the pressure was eased from the bowlers and the next 10 overs yielded 71 runs.

Carlson collected two boundaries in the first over from Josh Tongue, continuing his comeback from a shoulder problem, and Northeast also scored freely in completing a 68 ball half century.

The third wicket stand was worth 95 in 15 overs when Carlson on 41 nibbled at an Ed Barnard delivery and gave Cox his second catch. It was a deserved reward for Barnard who bowled his 10 overs in one spell for 39 runs.

Davidson came into the attack for the first time at 119 for three and was unfortunate in his first over with Billy Root and Northeast both collecting boundaries from edges.

But then Root and Northeast took complete command and reached their half centuries off 66 and 68 balls respectively before cutting loose. The final 10 overs yielded 139 runs with all of the Worcestershire bowlers coming in for severe punishment.

Worcestershire quickly ran into trouble when they set off in pursuit of their mammoth target. Ed Pollock played in typically aggressive fashion, collecting five boundaries in three overs from Dan Douthwaite, but then aimed a legside blow at James Weighell and top edged a catch to third man.

Weighell struck again in his next over as Taylor Cornall, who hit a List A best 97 against Essex, holed out to mid off.

Libby and Gareth Roderick batted sensibly in consolidating Worcestershire's position in adding 52 off eight overs.

Prem Sisodiya accounted for Roderick who was pouched at long on and then Barnard was caught and bowled by Carlson at 116-4. Libby reached a 48 ball half century but on 58 became Carlson's second victim when he drove tamely to cover.

The run rate reached 10 an over but Leach played positively from the start of his innings, striking Andrew Gorvin for a straight six. He struck the ball in superb fashion similar to his match-winning knock against Kent chasing another big target in the RLC at New Road last summer

Leach completed a 31 ball half century but then Northeast held onto an excellent one-handed catch at extra cover as he tried to hit Joe Cooke over the top. Cox was more circumspect in reaching 50 from 58 balls before Tongue (23) and Finch (14) were caught in the deep.

Worcs 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st31EJ PollockTR Cornall
2nd3GH RoderickTR Cornall
3rd52GH RoderickJD Libby
4th30JD LibbyEG Barnard
5th31OB CoxJD Libby
6th82J LeachOB Cox
7th30OB CoxDY Pennington
8th28OB CoxJC Tongue
9th33OB CoxAW Finch
10th17OB CoxO Davidson