Picture by Huw Evans/Glamorgan Cricket. James Wharton, back in the side after injury, congratulates Ben Cliff on one of his four wickets at Neath today.
Ben Cliff’s superb 4-29 from eight overs headlined an impressive Yorkshire bowling display which set up a nervy Metro Bank One-Day Cup win by two wickets over Glamorgan at The Gnoll in Neath today.
Yorkshire claimed their first victory in Group B at the second attempt, beating the champions of 2021 and 2024 in a game which saw ball dominate bat.
They chased 187 down with eight balls to spare but had to do it from 63-4 and 107-6, with captain Dom Bess and Fin Bean sharing a crucial seventh-wicket stand of 45.
Bean went on to top score with an impressive and composed 43 not out off 52 balls, while Cliff hit the winning boundary through mid-wicket deep into the penultimate over.
Earlier, Cliff’s seam led the way as Glamorgan were bowled out for 186 in 47 overs on the same pitch they used for Wednesday’s win over Sussex.
George Hill, Jack White and Indian overseas debutant Kuldeep Yadav all struck twice apiece, with opener Ed Byrom contributing a lone-hand 68 off 95 balls.
After Glamorgan elected to bat upon winning the toss, Yorkshire got ahead pretty quickly, with Hill getting Callum Nicholls caught at first slip pushing forwards in the third over.
That was the first of three wickets inside the opening 10, with Cliff claiming the other two, including striking with his very first ball to get Henry Hurle caught behind.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Fin Bean top-scored for Yorkshire and helped them get over the line chasing 187.
He also trapped Will Smale lbw playing around his front pad with the score on 41.
Further success came not long afterwards – 59-4 in the 15th – when White got Jack Hope-Bell lbw stuck on the crease. On Wednesday, Glamorgan had been in early trouble with the bat against Sussex here, only for Hope-Bell to recover them with a debut century. They went on to win that game.
Here, their recovery had to be led by left-handed opener Byrom, who played nicely in reaching his fifty off 64 balls with a slog-swept six over mid-wicket off a Kuldeep Yadav full toss.
This pitch never looked like a 300 and plenty surface, with uneven bounce obvious.
But Glamorgan did need more from Byrom and co in Yorkshire’s fourth appearance at this venue. In 1935 and 1954, the White Rose played Championship matches here, followed by a John Player League game in 1969.
This ground backs onto Neath’s rustic Rugby Union ground.
Byrom shared 47 with fifth-wicket partner Dan Douthwaite before miscueing a pull at White to mid-off. And when Douthwaite was yorked by Hill for 19, Glamorgan were 117-6 in the 32nd over.
Another 47-run stand came for the seventh wicket between Alex Horton and Timm van der Gugten, the latter who at one stage lofted Cliff for six over long-on before pulling a boundary next ball.
Picture by Huw Evans/Glamorgan Cricket. Will Bennison high fives debutant Kuldeep Yadav, who struck twice in an over late on in Glamorgan’s innings.
Cliff gained revenge, however, getting van der Gugten caught behind for 23 before Horton top-edged a sweep at Kuldeep to Will Bennison running around from short fine-leg towards square-leg.
Two balls later, Jamie McIlroy was caught at backward point against the India star, with Glamorgan now 174-9 in the 44th.
Cliff then wrapped up the innings by bowling captain Andy Gorvin.
Will Luxton then twice drove van der Gugten through the covers for four as the White Rose reply moved to 27-0 in the ninth over.
But openers Adam Lyth and Luxton both fell shortly afterwards – 45-2 in the 13th. Lyth was first to fall when he edged behind a delivery with extra bounce from van der Gugten, who then trapped Luxton (24) lbw.
Will Bennison, in at three, edged his first ball for four, a mighty relief for the highly-rated teenager whose first two first-team innings have yielded no runs dating back to last August in this competition. On Tuesday, against Hampshire, he was run out backing up without facing a ball.
And he looked in good order en-route to 22 before playing on against a Douthwaite ball with extra bounce.
James Wharton, back in the side after the best part of six weeks out with a fractured hand, followed for one when stumped against the left-arm spin of youngster Romano Franco, leaving Yorkshire 63-4 after 19 overs.
Picture by Huw Evans/Glamorgan Cricket. Glamorgan opener Eddie Byrom’s 64 was the highest score of the match.
Sam Whiteman and Hill added 33. But both fell lbw to McIlroy and Gorvin in the space of three overs – for 17 and 25 respectively – as the score slipped to 107-6 in the 30th over.
From there, Bean and Bess chipped away at the runs. There was the odd boundary, but mostly singles as they took the sting out of a situation which had got a touch sticky and shared 45.
Even when Bess pulled Gorvin to mid-on to fall for 22 – 151-7 in the 42nd over – it felt like Yorkshire had their noses in front.
With Bean and Kuldeep now together, the score more to 161-7 after 45 overs, with 26 to win as Glamorgan squeezed the run-rate.
The pair then hit a boundary apiece off Gorvin as 11 runs came from the 46th over, with that feeling like the killer blow.
Kuldeep later fell for 12, caught at mid-wicket off McIlroy trying to hit the winning runs, leaving Cliff to finish a hugely entertaining contest.
Yorkshire are back in action against Sussex at Hove on Sunday.
