Glam glum again

Having lost their opening matches against Worcestershire and Northamptonshire, the Bears needed a victory to keep hopes alive of a quarter-final slot.

After the Bears racked up 205 for seven in their 20 overs - a record score for Warwickshire in the short form of the game - Loudon helped to make it an easy win despite a 32-ball half-century for Matthew Elliott.

The visitors, who were put into bat, got off to a flyer, with Neil Carter and Nick Knight sharing an opening partnership worth 65.

Andrew Davies proved particularly expensive with 33 coming off his opening two overs. On the small St Helens ground, where Sir Garry Sobers struck his six sixes in an over in 1968, runs came thick and fast.

Warwickshire's momentum was checked when they lost three quick wickets in the space of four overs, including Carter, who clattered 38 in only 23 balls.

The pick of those early wickets was Michael Powell, who was brilliantly run out by Elliott from slip. The mainstay of Warwickshire's effort was James Troughton and Jonathan Trott, who shared in a stand of 71 in six overs.

The first six of the innings did not arrive until the 12th over, when Troughton hit Robert Croft out of the ground, and then another six sixes were dispatched.

The last maximum came off the last ball of the innings from the bat of Dewald Pretorius (18) ensuring the Warwickshire total went over 200.

Needing more than ten runs an over from the start, it was always going to be a challenging total for Glamorgan. Elliott, with three sixes in his half-century, and Sourav Ganguly, gave a sizeable home crowd some hope in a second- wicket partnership of 78 in 10 overs.

But when man of the match Loudon claimed both Test players in the space of two overs it heralded a clatter of wickets.

And Glamorgan went down to their second defeat in three matches, losing their last nine wickets for only 60 runs - with Loudon ripping through the middle order.

Glamorgan's next Twenty20 encounter is against Somerset at Taunton today.