Chief Executive Hugh Morris, was full of praise for Glamorgan’s new overseas signing Shaun Marsh after his heroics in this year’s Ashes series and is relishing his arrival to Wales this summer.
Marsh struck two centuries and scored nearly 450 runs in just seven innings to help Australia reclaim the Ashes with a 4-0 series win.
“He is a fine player, has had a very good Ashes series and we’re very much looking forward to welcoming him to Wales this season” said Morris.
“His performances will have certainly caught the eye of the Australian selectors and we are hoping his excellent form will continue for Glamorgan in 2018.”
Marsh, who is contracted as Glamorgan’s overseas player for two years, is eligible under his contract to play in the IPL if picked up, and consequently contingency plans will be in place to cover any potential absence.
“We’ll be finding out in the next couple of weeks what his availability will be like for the beginning of the 2018 season when the IPL auction happens. There is every chance Shaun will be picked up in the IPL as he has an excellent record in the tournament over a long period of time," he said.
Australia may tour Zimbabwe in June, followed by a two Test match series against Bangladesh in July and after his recent performance in the Ashes, Marsh could be selected to play in both series.
“We haven’t had confirmation of exactly when those Test matches take place, so we’ll have to wait and see.
“We’ll need to find some clarity as far as the IPL is concerned and then we need to find out what his Australian commitments are but we are looking to put some contingencies in place for these eventualities.”
2018 T20 BLAST
Last year, Glamorgan topped the South Group in the T20 Blast before reaching Finals Day for the first time since 2004. South African David Miller was brought in as a second overseas player half-way through the campaign and Morris says there is scope to do the same in 2018.
“We would certainly like to add a second overseas. David Miller came over last season for a limited amount of time and had a really big impact on the dressing room and had a couple of important knocks for us as well, especially in the match against Gloucestershire.
“We would look forward to welcoming a second overseas player to us. We feel as though we have a strong white-ball set up; we’ve done well in these formats over the last few years and to be really competitive against the best teams in the country we will need two overseas players.”
YOUNG WELSH TALENT
Glamorgan frequently fielded a youthful batting line-up in the County Championship in 2017 and with Colin Ingram signing a two-year white-ball contract and the retirement of Will Bragg there are plenty of opportunities for Glamorgan’s young Welsh players to make their mark in the first team.
“It was such a shame Will had to retire. He was at Glamorgan for a long period of time and over the last few years, particularly in red-ball cricket, he was beginning to show the potential we all knew he had.
“It leaves us with an inexperienced top order but will provide our young players with some really good opportunities. We saw at the end of last year the impact that Kiran Carlson had on County Cricket. We think he’s a fine young player and Connor Brown got some opportunities and again played some really nice cameos. Connor finishing University at the end of this year and will then be joining the playing staff which we’re looking forward to.”
“Aneurin Donald, David Lloyd and Owen Morgan have all gone over to the Gary Kirsten Academy in South Africa after working hard with Matthew Maynard in Cardiff during the winter so we’re looking to provide these players with an opportunity of performing at first team level.
“It’s really important that we promote local talent and I believe we have a group of young players who should be given a go next summer."