Date-stamped : 30 Apr96 - 02:15 Benson & Hedges Cup Glamorgan v Essex Cardiff 26 April 1996 ====> REPORT Versatile Thomas tilts the balance By Edward Bevan at Cardiff Glamorgan (155-6) bt Essex (151) by 4 wkts GLAMORGAN were indebted to young all-rounder Darren Thomas for their win against Essex at Sophia Gardens, after the Welsh county had stumbled to 110 for six in the 39th over chasing a target of 152. Thomas, who won the Gold Award, immediately struck Ronnie Irani for a straight six and a four, after the Essex all-rounder had taken three wickets in successive overs. Thomas scored 27 not out at a run a ball as he shared a match- winning partnership of 45 in nine overs with Adrian Dale, ena- bling Glamorgan to cruise to victory with 14 deliveries remain- ing. Earlier Thomas had made immediate inroads when Essex opted to bat, taking three wickets in his opening five overs. He re- moved Paul Prichard, Nasser Hussain for a duck, and Graham Gooch, who was reluctant to depart after nicking an inside edge to Colin Metson, who took three catches. Irani and Darren Robinson stabilised Essex`s position with a partnership of 61 for the fifth wicket before Tony Cottey re- moved them both with two sharp catches at square leg both off Robert Croft`s off-spin. Glamorgan, needing to score at 3.04 runs an over, opened with Croft, hoping to exploit the rule where only two outfielders are allowed in the opening 15 overs, but the experiment failed when Croft sliced Mark Ilott to gully. On a slow, low pitch, both teams found runs difficult to come by against accurate attacks, with Peter Such conceding only 16 runs from his 10 overs and into the bargain dismissing Hugh Morris, who was bowled for 33 while attempting to sweep the off-spinner. David Hemp showed a disciplined approach in contributing a useful 33 as Glamorgan gained yet another win against Essex, who have not beaten them in a one-day competition for four years. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http.//www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Shash (shs2*.cwru.edu)