Glamorgan 150 for 7 (Cooke 51*, Higgins 3-29) beat Gloucestershire 135 (van Buuren 53, Salter 4-20) by 15 runs
Andrew Salter claimed four for 20 as Glamorgan kick-started their Vitality Blast Central Group campaign with a 15-run victory over Gloucestershire at the Bristol County Ground.
The visitors ran up 150 for 7 on slow pitch after losing the toss, Chris Cooke top-scoring with 51 not out and Ryan Higgins returning 3 for 29.
In reply, Gloucestershire could manage only 135 all out, with Glamorgan spinners Salter and Prem Sisodiya dominating after taking the new ball. Graeme van Buuren and George Scott did their best, but from 70 for 6 their efforts were in vain.
Glamorgan were 40 for 2 at the end of the six-over Powerplay, having lost Dan Douthwaite lbw to Matt Taylor in the second over, and Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie, who looked in decent touch until attempting to pull a Higgins full toss and clothing a catch to short fine leg.
Gloucestershire spinners Tom Smith and van Buuren then did an excellent job, Smith claiming two wickets and van Buuren finishing his four-over spell with 1 for 20. Those figures would have been even better had Cooke not been given a life on six when lofting a drive towards long-on. Ian Cockbain slipped as he started to run in for the catch and ended up spilling a low chance.
It was van Buuren who took the important wicket of Billy Root in the tenth over, the opener having moved to 29 off 31 balls before carelessly reverse sweeping a catch to short third man.
Smith bowled Marchant de Lange and had Kiran Carlson stumped giving him the charge as Glamorgan slumped to 88 for 5 before Cooke and Callum Taylor restored respectability with a stand of 43 in five overs.
Taylor showed his promise with 23 off 20 balls, while Cooke, who faced 35 balls, hit sixes with a slog-sweep off Smith and a majestic drive over long-on off David Payne.
Higgins took two wickets at the end of the innings and Glamorgan’s score looked under par. But their chances improved when Sisodiya bowled a maiden to Miles Hammond at the start of Gloucestershire’s reply and Salter followed up by bowling Chris Dent for a duck.
Glamorgan’s decision to open with spin at both ends reaped further dividends when Hammond was caught at extra over off left-arm spinner Sisodiya’s second over to leave the home side 6 for 2. That became 13 for 3 when Cockbain was caught at deep midwicket off Salter and after six overs Gloucestershire were becalmed on 24 for 3.
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Sisodiya finished his four-over spell from the Pavilion End with 1 for 12, the 21-year-old having caused problems for every batsman.
Higgins then fell lbw to Salter, bringing Gloucestershire’s new T20 captain Jack Taylor to the crease at 29 for 4. James Bracey briefly threatened a recovery and had moved to 17 when middling a high full toss from Salter straight to deep midwicket and departing with a shake of the head.
Callum Taylor had been brought on to replace Sisiodiya with his offbreaks and at 54 for 5 Gloucestershire had faced one over of seam in the 11 bowled.
When Taylor was caught behind off de Lange to make it 65 for 6, Glamorgan had a grip their seamers never looked like relinquishing, some belligerent blows from Scott and van Buuren, who hit two sixes in succession off Taylor, proving too little, too late.
It was a valiant effort by van Buuren, in particular, but Gloucestershire needed 21 off the last over, bowled by Timm van der Gugten, and the task proved too great.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo