Glamorgan complete their programme in the LV=County Championship as they meet Hampshire in the closing match of the 2014 first-class season at their headquarters in Cardiff, with the four-day encounter scheduled to get underway at 10.30am on Tuesday, September 23rd. (Gates open - 9.30am)
Match Preview
Whilst Glamorgan's victory last week over Derbyshire has lifted them into seventh place in the Division Two table, events of the past few days elsewhere have meant that Hampshire are now vying with Essex for the promotion spot alongside Worcestershire. Essex's two-day victory over Leicestershire and Hampshire's draw against Kent means that the South Coast side are still in second place in the table, but they are just ten points ahead of Essex who host Worcestershire, the leaders of Division Two and already assured of promotion.
If Essex draw at Chelmsford and secure a maximum of 13 points, Hampshire will secure promotion providing they pick up four points. But if Hampshire draw at Cardiff and only pick up 13 points, whilst Essex beat Worcestershire and pick up 23 points, the Chelmsford-based club will be level on points but will secure promotion by virtue of having had more victories - seven as opposed to Hampshire's six.
Whilst every bonus point will be closely followed at Cardiff and Chelmsford by Essex and Hampshire supporters, Glamorgan are out of the promotion race. But there is still plenty at stake for their players, several of whom are close to personal landmarks. Will Bragg requires a further 17 runs to complete 1,000 first-class runs for the summer with Jim Allenby needing 73 more to reach the same landmark and Chris Cooke 135, whilst Jacques Rudolph also needs 65 runs to reach 2,000 runs in all forms of cricket.
On the bowling front, Michael Hogan needs a further six wickets to reach 100 wickets for Glamorgan in all forms of cricket in 2014, whilst all-rounder Jim Allenby needs six more wickets to complete the 500 runs / 50 wickets double in first-class matches this season.
Hampshire have won the last four Championship matches against Glamorgan at the Cardiff ground, including last season's match at the SWALEC Stadium where James Tomlinson took 5/44 as the Welsh county, chasing a target of 221 in a minimum of 90 overs, were dismissed for 177. Hampshire's margin of victory had been much finer in 2012 when they scraped home off the penultimate ball by two wickets after being left with a target of 204 in the rain-affected match.
The last time that Glamorgan beat Hampshire in the County Championship was twenty-three years ago at Southampton, with the Welsh county winning the contest at the Northlands Road ground in 1991 by seven wickets after Matthew Maynard had scored a career-best 243 and Hugh Morris a fine 131 in Glamorgan's mammoth total of 504.
In fact, Hampshire have not been defeated in a Championship match at the Cardiff ground since August 1985 when Glamorgan won a rain-affected contest by five wickets after Younis Ahmed struck an unbeaten century. But in their last Championship match against Derbyshire, Glamorgan recorded their first win over the Peakites at Cardiff for 22 years, so it would be a fine way for Mark Wallace and his team to round off the season by ending this 29-year record against the South Coast side in the Welsh capital.
Team News
With Gareth Rees having retired from first-class cricket, Glamorgan have added young batsman Aneurin Donald as well as bowlers Ruadhri Smith and Will Owen to the eleven which defeated Derbyshire last week. The 13-man squad in full is: JA Rudolph, WD Bragg, CB Cooke, J Allenby, DL Lloyd, AHT Donald, MA Wallace (capt and wkt-keeper), GG Wagg, DA Cosker, RAJ Smith, MG Hogan, KA Bull and WT Owen.