Glamorgan return to red-ball action against Worcestershire

4 Sep 2022 | Cricket

Head coach Matt Maynard has named a 14-man squad for our LV= County Championship fixture against Worcestershire at Sophia Gardens tomorrow. 

The Welsh county will continue their push for promotion to Division One as they welcome the Pears to Cardiff on the back of a famous innings victory against Leicestershire last time out.  

Sam Northeast scored a Glamorgan first-class record 410* in that fixture, and in our final Royal London Cup game of the season, he broke the County’s List A record as well, striking a magnificent 177* against the visitors at New Road two weeks ago. 

Captain David Lloyd returns to lead the team after he was rested for the final few matches of the Royal London Cup, while new overseas signings Ajaz Patel and Shubman Gill are set to make their Glamorgan debuts after arriving in Wales on Thursday.  

New Zealand left-arm spinner Patel became the latest man to take all ten wickets in a Test match when he claimed 10/119 against India in Wankhede in December 2021.  

Indian batter Gill is likely to slot in near the top of the order, possibly in the number three position left open by the departure of Colin Ingram. 

The classy stroke-maker has a stellar first-class average of 53.27 and is fresh off the back of a maiden one-day international century against Zimbabwe this month. 

Opening bowlers Timm van der Gugten and Michael Hogan also return to the Glamorgan squad after missing the Royal London Cup campaign due to selection in The Hundred, while opening batter Eddie Byrom also features after missing out on selection in the 50-over competition. 

The Welsh county come into the contest in third place in the Division Two table, just five points behind second-place Middlesex, but have a game in hand over the North London Club. 

The visitors currently lie in fifth place with Glamorgan hoping to make it home and away wins in the County Championship against the West Midlands outfit. 

View from the camp – Mark Wallace 

To have Shubman and Ajaz over for the final four matches of the season is great for us.

It would be huge for the Club to get promotion. We’re sitting in second in the table at the moment and there are two promotion places up for grabs and to get into that first division would be massive.

We haven’t been there for a long time and we’ve played some excellent cricket this year, and over the next four games we need to carry that on.

To bring in two overseas players in the last month means we’re no weaker than we have been at the start of the season and shows our intent and ambition to secure one of those promotion spots.

Head-to-head – Glamorgan vs Worcestershire  

Glamorgan’s most recent victory in Championship cricket against Worcestershire at Cardiff came in 2013 when the Welsh county won by ten wickets in a contest which saw Mike Reed, claim 5/27 in the visitors first innings before Jim Allenby struck 78 before taking 4/27 to put Glamorgan into the ascendancy. 

For Worcestershire, it will be their first visit to Cardiff for a Championship match since 2019 and a game which saw Marnus Labuschagne score a century in each innings whilst Brett D’Oliveira – now the visiting captain - scored a hundred as the game ended in a draw after Glamorgan had set the visitors a target of 326 in 66 overs. 

Worcestershire were the victors by eight wickets at Cardiff in 2017 after Tom Kohler-Cadmore had scored a century and rookie seam bowler Josh Tongue had claimed 5/45. They might also have won in 2016 when D’Oliveira posted a maiden double-hundred to put Worcestershire into a dominant position, before rain washed out the last two days of the contest. 

Sam Northeast, who is the leading run-scorer in the country - with 1,127 first-class runs to his name at an average of 75.13 - will also be looking to continue his outstanding form, having scored 515 runs since he was last dismissed in a Championship match. 

How to watch/listen:   

The game will be livestreamed on our website via the Match Zone with commentary from Nick Webb and his BBC Radio Wales colleagues.  

You can enjoy highlights and match updates on the club’s social media channels.

Tickets are available to purchase from the ticket office at Gate 2 on each day of play - £15 adults, £10 students, £3 under 17s. 

SHARE