Glamorgan’s T20 campaign began in 2004 began with a five-wicket victory at Northampton, with Darren Thomas hitting a whirlwind 43* from just nineteen balls. This was followed by an eight-wicket victory over the Somerset Sabres at Taunton as Ian Thomas became the first Glamorgan batsman to score a T20 hundred as he posted a savage and unbeaten 116 after the Dragons had opted to bowl first in the televised contest. They made an early breakthrough as Davies removed the dangerous Jamie Cox, and the Sabres were indebted to James Hildreth, who struck 66 from 33 balls as the home team`s innings ended on 193-8.
Needing to score at 9.7 an over, Matthew Maynard had set the tone by blasting 40 in the opening four overs, before Thomas cut loose, reaching his half-century from just 25 balls. He continued to bludgeon the Somerset bowlers, recording the first-ever televised century in the competition striking 10 fours and 6 sixes as none of the Somerset bowlers could restrict his salvo of withering blows. His sterling efforts meant that the Dragons entered the final two overs still requiring a further 23 runs. Thomas immediately relieved the pressure by smashing yet another six and four, before Hemp gleefully struck the winning boundary with three balls remaining.
Three days later, the Dragons lost to the Warwickshire Bears in their final group game at Cardiff, as Australian Brad Hogg played a match-winning role with bat and ball. The following week Croft’s team bounced back at Cardiff by defeating the Gloucestershire Gladiators by 32 runs with Hemp once again top-scoring before Alex Wharf claimed 3 wickets to stifle the visitors run chase. The next night, the Dragons were in action again at New Road where a quickfire innings from Maynard plus another frugal new ball salvo from Andrew Davies saw the Welsh county to a 20-run victory, a quarter-final tie, and a home draw.
The Dragons opponents were the Warwickshire Bears but the quarter-final saw the Dragons turn the tables on the Bears, in front of a massive crowd of 8,500 at the Cardiff ground. The visiting batsmen stuttered against a waspish spell of 3/32 from Darren Thomas and a vibrant performance in the field by the lithe Dragons fielders. Chasing a target of 159, the Dragons made a poor start, slumping to 2-2 with both Maynard and Ian Thomas back in the dugout as it looked like the Bears would be clinching a place in the Finals Day at their home ground.
But David Hemp and Matthew Elliott had other ideas, as they shared a partnership of 118 for the third wicket to turn the game in the Dragons favour. Both batsmen departed with 23 runs still needed in the final four overs, and after their dramatic collapse against Brad Hogg’s wrist-spin in the previous encounter, a few flutters went through the home camp. But the jaunty Mark Wallace quelled any anxiety as with a mix of the orthodox and the audacious, he saw the Dragons home with an over to spare and a place at Finals Day.
By their own admission, the Dragons didn’t fire on all cylinders on the big day at Edgbaston as, in the semi-final against the Leicestershire Foxes, Darren Maddy blitzed a quickfire 72 from 40 balls to see his side to a decent total of 165-5 from their 20 overs. The Dragons top-order then departed in the first six overs, and it was left to Hemp and Wallace to get the scoreboard ticking over before the loss of further wickers as the Foxes reached the final en route to lifting the T20 crown.
Despite their defeat, the Dragons success in the Twenty20 competition had an important bearing on the ground development at Sophia Gardens. The floodlit contests in the competition, as well as the other day-night contests in the National League had attracted bumper crowds to the Cardiff ground, with huge temporary stands, normally only required for the One-Day Internationals. Glamorgan were not alone as every county club reported a rise in attendances in 2004 and more sell-out matches in the Twenty20 competition. With the hospitality suites also packed out for these enjoyable contests, it was a clear sign that the installation of permanent floodlights at the Cardiff ground would be a shrewd investment. Work therefore took place over the winter months in securing the finance needed for their installation, and applied for planning permission for the erection of four stacks, plus a small sub-station adjacent to the Wilfred Wooller Gates.
The success of the Glamorgan team across all formats during 2004 also gave a massive boost to the ground re-development scheme. Limited finances had stifled progress, so midway during 2003 a group – under the Chairmanship of Gareth Williams – comprising committee members, sponsors and other volunteers planned a Ground Appeal Year for 2004. With the name of “The National Cricket Stadium for Wales Appeal” it further promoted Glamorgan Cricket as the stewards of Welsh cricket, and Sophia Gardens as a centre of excellence for cricket in Wales. Without a player beneficiary during 2004, the Appeal sought to kick-start the fundraising for the re-development project by highlighting the grand plans and eliciting the support of the Welsh public.
With Simon Jones in the England team, the Appeal also championed the notion of Sophia Gardens as a Test Match ground with the Appeal Year chairman announcing “we believe that there is a very strong case for Test cricket in Wales, Like Durham, we have a powerful geographical argument. We have to make a case though, based on improving the facilities and selling out the matches that we’re allocated. We believe it’s more realistic to be aiming for the interim step of staging regular one-day international matches involving England than to seek a full Test match from the outset. That being said, we would certainly like to think that successfully staging these, along with the quality of facilities the development will bring about, is a very good argument for a Test Match being played Wales for the first time.”