Glamorgan coach Robert Croft believes the Welsh county will deliver another international showpiece event on Saturday when England face Sri Lanka at The SSE SWALEC in the final match of the one-day series.
“This ground has already shown it can deliver top-quality cricket so there are no concerns there,” said Croft, the former England spinner.
“The pitches here have been superb this summer. There has been a little bit more pace and bounce which I am sure the batsmen will appreciate.
“The city always produces every time and everyone who comes here has a great time off the field. People talk about the friendliness of the welcome they receive and they also know the exciting cricket they will see.”
Despite going down 2-nil in the One-Day Series, Croft believes the Sri Lankans are more suited to the 50-over game than the Test arena.
“It’s more a game they are suited to especially with the red ball in this country,” said Croft. "What we saw early on in the Test series in the early English summer time was they found life very difficult.
“It was cold and there is a lot more lateral movement and they found it very difficult. They get a feelgood vibe from one-day cricket and the white ball does not move around as much. So the one-day gives them more opportunity to play their natural game.
“They have a strong batting line-up and like to take the game to the opposition.”
On the England squad, Croft added: “There are some old names and new names while the guy who has been catching all the headlines at the moment is Jonny Bairstow who is relishing his second chance and is in alongside Jos Buttler.
“When Jason Roy and Alex Hales get some runs at the top of the order, England can produce fireworks, especiially with the likes of Joe Root and you have Eoin Morgan there in the middle order too.
“There are some young seamers like David Willey and Chris Woakes and we will see if they can put some pressure on the older stagers.
“It will be interesting to see how Adil Rashid performs with the ball. England want their leg-spinners to take wickets and that’s what he does.
“It is not a holding role, it’s more a case of how many wickets can they take.
“Adil is suited to that and he can move the ball both ways. So they have got pace and spin options.”
Croft spent some time in the winter working with the England spin bowlers and was impressed with the set-up established by captain Eoin Morgan and coach Trevor Bayliss.
“The attitude was very relaxed but focused,” said Croft, who played 21 Tests and 50 one-day internationals for England.
“They knew what they were there to achieve but there was no pressure put on them. They are just looking to win a game of cricket and it was that simple.
“There were well drilled by Eoin Morgan and he knew what he wants. I get the impression he and Trevor Bayliss work very well together and dovetail nicely.”
Former England cricketer and Glamorgan coach, Robert Croft, is the official brand ambassador for leading energy company SSE SWALEC –the proud sponsor and community partner of Glamorgan Cricket. SSE SWALEC is a passionate supporter of cricket, from grassroots and community level right through to the professional game.
As part of its support for Welsh cricket, SSE SWALEC offered members of its loyalty programme, SSE Reward, complimentary tickets to a selection of Glamorgan’s home fixtures at The SSE SWALEC as well as access to exclusive events and upgrades. The demand for the tickets reached an unprecedented level – with all T20 match tickets selling out within the first few days since launching the offer.
For more information on how to access opportunities like this, visit ssereward.com