The Brown Caps slumped to a second successive defeat in the NatWest Pro40 at the hands of the Glamorgan Dragons. After reducing the home side to 43 for 4, Mark Wallace and Tom Maynard took the game away from the Brown Caps to post 216 for seven. The chase stumbled to 138 all out with only Matthew Spriegel showing some application as the Brown Caps lost by 78 runs.

The Brown Caps first trip to the redeveloped SWALEC Stadium saw them give away a great start with the ball that let the Dragons post 216 for 7 off their 40 overs. The unchanged Brown Cap team started positively and bowled with great discipline. Pedro Collins was bowling with great control and only conceded 14 runs in his first 6 overs. The wicket was not an easy wicket to strike the ball on and runs were hard to come by. Jade Dernbach was also hitting a good length, making shot making difficult and Richard Grant was the first to go, edging a wide delivery to Jonathan Batty for 4. Collins then claimed the wicket of the Dragons captain David Hemp for 7, leaving the home side 27 for two. The Brown Caps seamers were controlling the powerplay and restricted Glamorgan to just two boundaries in the first 15 overs. Dernbach bowled Michael Powell for 23 with a full ball that beat him for pace more than anything. Chris Jordan was also playing his part and hit the right marks straight away at the River Taff end. He was generating more pace from a slow pitch. He found some life and trapped Jamie Dalrymple LBW for a 17 ball duck.

The Brown Caps would have been delighted with the first 15 overs and with reducing the home side to 43 for 4 will be disappointed with not capitalising. The Dragons needed a partnership and they got just that between Mark Wallace and Tom Maynard for the fifth wicket. The young Maynard and wicketkeeper Wallace took their time to play themselves in. Mark Ramprakash turned to his spinners to keep the squeeze on, but they were not as affected as perhaps first thought on a pitch that looked like it should turn. Chris Schofield started with a couple of loose deliveries that were duly put to the fence and was replaced by Usman Afzaal at the River Taff end. It was Usman who gifted a leg-side full toss to Maynard that initiated a flurry of shots from the powerful right-hander. After dispatching Usman for six he then upped the tempo and went to fifty. Wallace was all the while finding singles at ease and the partnership passed 100. With the run-out of Maynard for 65, a fast piece of fielding from Jason Roy on the boundary, it was Wallace who opened his shoulders and raced to 85 off 80 balls. Wallace fell in the last over as the Dragons posted 216 for 7.

The Brown Caps were hampered by Chris Jordan pulling up with cramp, having only bowled 5.1 of his 8 overs and Schofield also leaving the field after he was struck hard on the right hand when fielding off his own bowling.

The visitor’s chase started poorly when Scott Newman edged behind off Jason Gillespie for four in the first over. The reply never recovered as Gillespie and David Harrison controlled the early overs. James Benning had a brief flurry of six quick boundaries in the sixth and seventh overs in reaching 28, but when he was bowled by Gillespie, the Brown Caps would keep loosing wickets at regular intervals as they struggled to keep up with the run rate.

Robert Croft and Dean Cosker frustrated the batsman, who resulted to big shots to try and blast their way out of trouble. Afzaal, Schofield, Jordan and Batty all fell playing big shots against the spinners, as they could not build any partnerships. Matthew Spriegel kept his head down and played the role of Wallace in the Dragons innings, but nobody stayed with him. Spriegel patiently hit singles and moved the score passed 100, as boundaries were hard to find. He continued to loose partners and when a mix up with Collins led to a run-out and the end of the innings, the Brown Caps fell 78 runs adrift, with Spriegel 44 not out.

Watch the action from Cardiff here on Surrey TV.

Add to Del.icio.us Digg it share on Facebook (What is this?)

• Listen
• Watch
• Get the One Day Shirt 2009 Adults