SIX days after their Lord’s triumph, Hampshire crashed to a comprehensive defeat in their first T20 match of the season.

After limiting Glamorgan to 168-6, James Vince’s side lost by 63 runs against last year’s south division winners.

Their reply got off to the worst possible start when they were reduced to 21-4 in front of a 7,000-plus crowd.

Debutant Colin Munro thumped the first ball straight back down the ground for six, only to be caught at the wicket by the next delivery from off-spinner Andrew Salter.

Rossouw was trapped lbw three balls later before an outstanding one-handed return catch by Timm Van der Gugten got rid of James Vince.

When Sam Northeast skied an attempted pull, Hampshire were 21-4.

Tom Alsop and Liam Dawson threatened a recovery.

But Alsop soon top edged a reverse sweep and Lewis McManus and Dawson were out in identical fashion during the next over.

They hooked short balls from veteran left-armer Graham Wagg to deep backward square in the space of three balls.

Reeling on 32-7, Hampshire were heading for their lowest-ever T20 total.

But Gareth Berg and Kyle Abbott’s eighth-wicket stand of 54 from 34 balls at least ensured the county went past the 85 made against Sussex in 2008.

They hit a six apiece, Berg raising spirits with a 17-ball 26 (two fours) and Abbott thumping 29 from 20 balls (three fours) during raucous renditions of Football’s Coming Home.

It had looked like being a much more memorable evening when, after a tidy start from Chris Wood and Berg, new signing Mujeeb Ur Rahman claimed a wicket with his third ball for the county.

The mystery spinner did not find much turn on debut but soon deceived Australia Usman Khawaja.

Bowling wide of the crease from round the wicket, he knocked back the left-hander’s off stump with a full-length delivery.

Mujeeb was taken out of the firing line after an expensive second over but Dawson took the big wickets of Shaun Marsh, caught on the mid-wicket boundary, and Glamorgan captain Colin Ingram, who ramped him to Mujeeb at fly slip.

Then Aneurin Donald cross batted Munro’s third ball to long on.

But former Bournemouth star Chris Cooke and Salter helped David Lloyd ensure Glamorgan had a decent total to bowl at as the out-of-sorts Abbott conceded four sixes during the visitors’ last three overs.

Hampshire did not help themselves. Their fielding was short of the standard set at Lord’s, with Sam Northeast dropping a good chance on the boundary and Abbott putting down a sharp return catch, similar to the one that Van der Gugten held.

Hampshire head coach Craig White said: “It was bitterly disappointing. It is a massive wake up call after Saturday.

“Hopefully this is our blip and every team has one shocker along the way.

“There are some strong teams out there and this makes us realise that everyone is coming for us. We are the team to beat.

“It was a massive crowd down and they were expecting something after Saturday.

“There are so many games in this competition though that we can turn it around pretty quickly.

“You are going to win some and lose some but hopefully you win more than you lose.”

Glamorgan captain Colin Ingram: “It was a great start for us.

“We have been doing the small things right in training in the build up and that is where it started and then we made some good decisions along the way.

“Batting wise we showed the right energy out there and took our boundary options well, and then bowling was awesome.

“Salter has opened the bowling for us in the past and he is a big character and likes the challenge.

“Fair play to him as the first ball went out the ground and then to get two wickets in the same over was a great comeback.

“We said before the competition we wanted to use it to chance momentum in the group and you can already see the smiles in the group.

“I feel this is a huge turning point in our season.”


SCORECARD
Glamorgan innings

UT Khawaja b Mujeeb Ur Rahman 9
SE Marsh c Rossouw b Dawson 15
CA Ingram (c) c Mujeeb b Dawson 35
AHT Donald c Alsop b Munro 26
DL Lloyd not out 38
CB Cooke † lbw b Abbott 22
GG Wagg c Vince b Wood 0
AG Salter not out 12
Extras 11 (lb 4, w 7)
TOTAL 168/6 (20 Overs, RR: 8.4)
Did not bat: CAJ Meschede, MG Hogan, T van der Gugten
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-59, 3-91, 4-98, 5-144, 6-145
Bowling: Wood 4-0-28-1, Berg 3-1-18-0, Mujeeb 4-1-34-1, Dawson 4-0-25-2, Abbott 4-0-54-1, Munro 1-0-5-1 

Hampshire innings
C Munro c Cooke b Salter    
RR Rossouw lbw b Salter    
*JM Vince c & b van der Gugten 2        
S N’east c van der Gugten b Hogan    
TP Alsop c Lloyd b Salter 12    
LA Dawson c Salter b Wagg 8
+LD McManus c Salter b Wagg 0
GK Berg lbw b Meschede 26
KJ Abbott b Ingram 29    
CP Wood st Cooke b Ingram 10    
Mujeeb Zadran not out 8
Extras (1 w) 1
Total 105 (all out, 16.5 overs)
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-8, 3-11, 4-13, 5-31, 6-32, 7-32, 8-86, 9-88, 10-105
Bowling: Salter 4-0-34-3, Hogan 3-0-7-1, van der Gugten 2-1-10-1, Wagg 2-0-17-2, Meschede 3-0-22-1, Ingram 2.5-0-15-2