Glamorgan welcome Leicestershire to Sophia Gardens for the Welsh county’s next home match in the LV=County Championship match with the four-day contest scheduled to get underway at 11.00am on Monday, 10 July (writes Andrew Hignell).
There are some personal milestones looming for several Glamorgan players, not least Kiran Carlson whose tally of 754 runs in first-class cricket this season has put him in second place in the season’s list of leading run-scorers, 44 runs behind Derbyshire’s Leus du Plooy. With further productive innings in the six remaining matches, Kiran is set to surpass his best-ever seasonal aggregate - 928 runs in 2021 - ahead of passing the coveted thousand run landmark .
Glamorgan have been the winners on the last three occasions at Cardiff against Leicestershire, with the Welsh county winning last summer by six wickets after Glamorgan had amassed 437 in their first innings, thanks to half-centuries from Kiran Carlson (91), Sam Northeast (84) and Chris Cooke (52), plus 64 extras. In 2019, Glamorgan had won by 291 runs after Kraigg Brathwaite had made an unbeaten 103, plus a return of 10-5-6-3 from Andrew Salter.
Leicestershire were beaten by 132 runs in 2018 during a contest which was set up by 83 from Kiran Carlson plus feisty half-centuries from Craig Meschede and Timm van der Gugten. Michael Hogan also took 4/30 but the scenario nearly changed as Dieter Klein smashed 94 in a stubborn last wicket stand before van der Gugten ended the game and the 2018 season by trapping the South African l.b.w.
Leicestershire had won by ten wickets in their match at Sophia Gardens in April 2016 with their victory – their first since 2001 at the Cardiff ground – being set up by a first innings haul of 6/73 by Clint McKay. The Australian then used the long handle to post a defiant half-century with Irishman Niall O’Brien also top scoring with 93 before Ben Raine made inroads into Glamorgan’s second innings with the all-rounder claiming four wickets.
However, Glamorgan defeated Leicestershire by 137 runs when the two sides met at Cardiff in June 2015. Decent innings by Graham Wagg (94), Chris Cooke (84), Jacques Rudolph (74) and Colin Ingram (60) all put Glamorgan into the ascendancy before a fine bowling performance quelled the visitors’ efforts to chase a target of 324 in a minimum of 126 overs as Glamorgan eased to victory shortly after lunch on the final afternoon.