Carberry's Half-Century in Vain as Rudolph sees Glamorgan Home

A fantastic half-century from Michael Carberry (70) was not enough to see Hampshire claim victory over Glamorgan at the The Ageas Bowl, as Jacques Rudolph's (77) vital innings saw the visitors claim a 23-run victory in the NatWest T20 Blast.

An aggressive knock from Rudolph helped Glamorgan recover from the frequent loss of early wickets to post 181-7 in their opening effort.

In reply, an exciting fifty from Carberry got Hampshire off to a sensational start, but the regular loss of wickets meant Hampshire quickly fell behind the required rate, before eventually falling short after needing an unlikely 34 runs in the final over.

After being asked to field first, Hampshire began in positive fashion with Gareth Berg (3-34) striking early to pick up the valuable wicket of Colin Ingram (13), seeing the visitors restricted to 40-1. 

Fellow opener Rudolph looked in good touch from the off, but the loss of two further wickets in quick succession courtesy of Danny Briggs (3-12) and Yasir Arafat (1-25) ensured the hosts continued to apply pressure. 

As wickets tumbled around him, Rudolph remained and after hitting several hefty blows, he reached a deserved half-century off an impressive 30 balls.

Despite the skipper leading from the front, wickets continued to fall and the visitors soon found themselves struggling on 119-5 with Berg bowling with effective variation. However, with Rudolph still at the crease, Glamorgan still had hopes of posting an imposing total, and the left-hander continued to play some innovative strokes to lead the rebuilding effort..

The away-side had safely reached 160-5 before Rudolph eventually fell, but a good finish saw Glamorgan post a commanding first-innings total. 

Hampshire began their chasing effort in fine fashion, as openers Carberry and James Vince (28) got their side off to quick start. The home-side had reached 69-0 and looked well-set before Vince departed to bring an end to his quick-fire innings. 

The loss of Vince did not deter the left-hander from continuing his destructive stroke-play and as he continued to find the boundary on his way to his fifty, the required total began to tumble. 

However some good bowling from the away-side saw wickets fall consistently at the other end, and the momentum began to swing towards Glamorgan with the loss of four cheap wickets leaving Hampshire struggling at 117-4. 

Ruaidrhi Smith then claimed the prized scalp of Carberry, to all but end any hopes of a home victory, and despite late efforts from Adam Wheater (21), Hampshire were unable to get close enough to their target of 182.