Metro Bank One Day Cup 2024, Semi Finals – Live Streaming and Reports – Somerset vs Leicestershire Foxes & Glamorgan vs Warwickshire – 18th August

Here are the Metro Bank One Day Cup 2024, Semi Finals – Live Cricket Streaming, Live Scores, Match Reports and Reactions Somerset vs Leicestershire Foxes & Glamorgan vs Warwickshire – 18th August.

 Semi Finals 18th August 2024

Somerset vs Leicestershire Foxes, 1st Semi Final, The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, Taunton

Lewis Goldsworthy hit a career-best 115 not out as Somerset progressed to the final of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with a 23-run victory over holders Leicestershire Foxes at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.

The hosts posted 334 for four after losing the toss, Goldsworthy blasting 5 sixes and 6 fours in a brilliant 86-ball innings against the team he represented on loan in this season’s Vitality Blast. James Rew contributed 71 and Andy Umeed 57.

In reply, Leicestershire made 311 for nine, Peter Handscomb leading the way with 111 off 86 balls, including 13 fours and 2 sixes, while Ben Cox hit 49. Somerset go forward to face Glamorgan in the final at Trent Bridge on Sunday September 22.

Somerset openers Umeed and George Thomas took time to assess the pace of the pitch with a solid stand of 91 in 19 overs. It ended when Thomas, on 47, departed lbw to Tom Scriven falling across his stumps, having struck 7 fours.

Umeed’s half-century was the tenth in his last 15 One Day Cup innings. His 76-ball knock concluded when he tried to lift a ball from Roman Walker over mid-on and was well caught by the back-pedalling Ian Holland above his head.

After 30 overs, Somerset were becalmed on 135 for two. But Goldsworthy and Rew soon began to raise the tempo, Goldsworthy going to fifty off 52 balls and Rew quickly following off 44.

The pair had taken the score to 251 in the 44th over when Rew was superbly caught by the diving Louis Kimber on the mid-wicket boundary off Chris Wright. By then Goldsworthy was in full flight, smashing two of his sixes in the same Holland over as Somerset plundered 119 off the last ten overs of their innings.

The 23-year-old Cornishman’s second List A century came off 79 deliveries and he went past his previous career-best score of 111 with a pulled four off Walker. Skipper Sean Dickson made a rapid 18 and Ben Green, another Leicestershire loanee this summer, cleared the ropes off Walker.

It was Somerset’s highest ever List A total against Leicestershire. But soon Sol Budinger and Holland were eating into it, putting on 54 in eight overs before Budinger, on 33, pulled a catch to deep square off Josh Davey.

Holland and Lewis Hill then accumulated sensibly and had taken the total to 92 in the 17th over when Hill top-edged a pull off Green to be caught for 19. Holland followed in Green’s next over, bowled by a slower ball that kept low, having moved comfortably to 40.

Green struck a third and vitally important blow when Ajinkya Rahane pulled a short ball straight to substitute fielder Ned Leonard at deep backward square and Leicestershire were in disarray at 106 for four in the 21st over.

Kasey Aldridge bowled his first five overs for 11 runs to increase the pressure and at halfway in their innings the Foxes were 126 for four, needing a further 209 at more than eight an over.

While Handscomb was going strong there was hope. The experienced Aussie went to a 42-ball half-century with a six off Goldsworthy, whose second over went for 18 runs. Cox provided impressive support as the fifth-wicket partnership reached the century mark off 13.4 overs.

Aldridge switched to the Marcus Trecothick Pavilion End to have Cox caught behind, having faced 55 balls. Kimber quickly followed, skying a catch off Jack Leach to long-on and Aldridge took a steepling caught and bowled to remove Liam Trevaskis.

Scriven provided some belligerent blows and Handscomb went to a deserved hundred by lofting Aldridge over mid-off for four, having faced 75 balls. But when he holed out to long-on off Davey with 42 still needed, Leicestershire were a spent force.

Somerset centurion Lewis Goldsworthy said: “At the start of the day if anyone had said we would score 340 I think we would have taken it, especially batting first, which is always quite tough here.

“I thought we paced our innings really well and also closed it out well at the end. Having wickets in hand helped a lot and the work the guys put in at the top of the order made it possible for us to finish strongly.

“For new batters, the pitch was tough and you needed to take 20 or 25 balls to get in. Both James Rew and I did that and the more deliveries we faced, the more we adjusted to the pace of the wicket.

“I’d say it was the best I have played in one-day cricket. I took my time at the start and was then able to accelerate through the middle of my innings. Rewy and I have batted together a lot in the competition and the right-hand, left-hand combination certainly helps.”

Leicestershire centurion Peter Handscomb said: “Sometimes you have to give the opposition credit. Somerset batted really well, laying a platform in the first 30 overs from which they were able to accelerate.

“It’s good to see Goldy (Lewis Goldsworthy) making runs, but a shame it was against us. We really enjoyed having him at our club on loan and if the opportunity came to do so again we would grab it with both hands.

“He is such a good kid and works really hard on his game, so I’m happy for him. At halfway we still felt we had a good chance and our aim when batting was to try and reach a stage where we needed ten an over off the last ten.

“We got to that position and, while it was a tough ask, we had a couple of big-hitters to come. The belief among the players has been great throughout the competition and shows the county is on the right trajectory.

“It was great to win the trophy last year and this season, with more players going off to The Hundred, the strength in depth of the squad has been evident. Other guys came in and did well and the club is in great shape going forward.”

Glamorgan vs Warwickshire, 2nd Semi Final, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Dan Douthwaite turned into a matchwinner with both bat and ball as he guided Glamorgan into the Metro Bank One Day Cup final at Trent Bridge next month with a 39 run victory over Warwickshire at Sophia Gardens.

It was his lusty batting that first caught the eye as he hauled the home side through to a 50 over total of 9 for 247 after they had earlier been floundering at 4 for 44 in the 15th over. He hit four sixes – one out of the ground and into the River Taff – in his sparkling 55, hitting 16 off the final over from Oliver Hannon-Dalby.

Prior to that Colin Ingram (47) and Billy Root (46) had steadied the innings. Then Douthwaite got into his bowling rhythm and removed Chris Benjamin and Kai Smith to catches at the wicket by Will Samile as he reduced the visitors to 6 for 62 in reply in the 21st over. They were eventually all out for 208.

Timm van der Gugten, who had earlier scored 26 with the bat, picked up the wickets of Rob Yates (4) and Will Rhodes (4), while fellow paceman Jamie McIlroy got rid of the dangerous Ed Barnard (14) and Hamza Shaikh (8).

Tight bowling and energetic fielding by the home side turned the screw on Warwickshire as the run are climbed to more than seven per over in the 26th over. The 100 came up in the 32nd over as the rate rose to more than eight per over

Mike Burgess was the only batter to provide some solid resistance in the middle order and he reached his half-century with a six off the spin of Ingram. He obviously enjoyed the experience as he hit the next two over the boundary for maximums.

His seventh wicket stand with Jake Lintott reaped 87 runs and his 85 contained four sixes and six fours. His departure, caught at mid off by Douthwaite off the bowling of the returning McIlroy, left Warwickshire at 7 for 149 - still 99 short of their target with 11 overs to go.

When Lintott was caught off a reverse sweep of the bowling of Ben Kellaway for 26 the game was up. There were a few big hits in defiance at the death – Michael Booth hit three sixes in his 3 – but Warwickshire ended 40 runs short of the victory target.

Warwickshire captain Barnard had no hesitation in asking Glamorgan to bat when he won the toss. Playing on the same Sophia Gardens wicket as used for the home side’s win last week over Yorkshire that earned them a straight semi-final tie, Barnard had obviously taken note of the help the pitch had given the seam bowlers in that match.

It proved to be a good choice for the seam attack that he led. Opening the bowling and running straight through his allotted 10 overs, the visiting skipper ripped through Glamorgan’s top order and end for 4 for 34 in his top class spell.

Three of his victims were caught in the slips by Rob Yates – Asa Tribe (13), Kiran Carlson (2) and Will Smale (13) - and he trapped Sam Northeast (8) lbw. That reduced the home side to 4 for 44 in the 15th over and he could have had a fifth wicket had Yates not put down an easy chance Colin Ingram in the 17th over.

At that stage the Ingram had only scored 18 and he went on to notch 47 before he was fifth out, trapped lbw by Michael Rae. Ingram steadied what looked like being a sinking ship in tandem with Billy Root as they put on 46 for the fifth wicket.

Building on his midweek half-century in the win over Yorkshire Vikings, Root five fours in his 46, sharing in invaluable stands of 55 with Ben Kellaway and then 22 with Dan Douthwaite before his departure in the 40th over made it 7 for 167.

At that stage Warwickshire must have been hoping to mop up the tail quite quickly, but Dothwaite. Timm van der Gugten and Andy Gorvin had other ideas. Between them they conjured up 92 runs as they plundered 79 off the last 10 overs to set the visitors a target of 248.

Douthwaite ended on 55 and thumped four enormous sixes and four fours as he took 15 and then 17 off the final two overs. That meant the Welsh side at least had some sort of total to defend – which they managed to do with a few overs to spare.

Glamorgan hero Dan Douthwaite (55, 2 for 37 and the catch that dismissed top scorer Michael Burgess) can't wait for the final having missed out on the 2021 tournament victory:

"Wickets aside, keeping them at bay throughout the middle of the game, when they run rate rose above eight per over, meant it was a matter of time before they chanced their arm.

"Michael Burgess had us second guessing our tactics for a while, but we finished it off in the end. If you are going to be harsh on us then the challenge going into next month's final will be can we clean sides up quicker, like we've seen sides do to us

"We know how to play and win games here at Sophia Gardens. We know what a good score is and we thought we were there or thereabouts, and we know how to defend it.

"It was nice to turn up to play in a semi-final in front of a big crowd. Looking back to 2021 I was in the Hundred that year and I was only there watching my best mates

"Even though it was probably my best memory in cricket. Now I want to go one better and emulate what we did in 2021 by playing in the game. We've got nothing to lose." 

Warwickshire skipper Ed Barnard (4 for 34) was naturally disappointed with the 39 run loss and missing out on a trip to Trent Bridge for the final:

"It did a little bit with the new ball and both teams lost a few early wickets, which makes the game tough. Chasing a score like that never helps and we just didn't play good enough cricket.

"It was a decent pitch and both teams bowled well early. To be 50-4 meant we were scrapping to chase that score.

"It's disappointing not to get through to the final. We probably took our foot off the gas toward the back end of their innings and Dan Douthwaite hit the ball better than anyone on the day.

"We hoped to get them for around 200, but they got up to nearly 250 in the end, which as tough to chase."

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