Head Coach Robert Croft believes a streetwise Durham made the most of conditions as the visitors defeated Glamorgan in the Specsavers County Championship at Sophia Gardens.
Despite dealing with injuries in the squad, Croft believes Glamorgan’s younger players are developing on the first-class stage with more opportunity and exposure.
“Fair play to Durham, they put on a very good show with the ball. It was a pitch where it moved around a fair bit and they made the most of the conditions on the first morning and they bowled very well.
“In the second session our bowling was very good, we got 70 runs for six wickets and after that Patel played very well and got them a good score. I was disappointed with our accuracy with the ball and from a batting perspective it was tricky and we weren’t able to get a partnership going.
“I’m in regular contact with Steve Watkin, who is on charge of our second team about who does well. We don’t ignore anybody on our staff, with the amount of injuries we’ve had this year we don’t have many staff left.
“de Lange isn’t fit, Marsh isn’t here and Timm van der Gugten wasn’t able to play so we have to look at what we do have. What’s important for these young men is that they preserve as much confidence as possible, they have a high challenge situation at a very young age in their cricketing lives so we’re looking at everybody.
“We are giving opportunity to lads that coaches across Wales have worked tirelessly with over years to develop. In an ideal world it would be great to have one or two older players to compliment these young lads but that isn’t the situation right now.
“There is no substitute for experience in certain positions in your team, but by tweaking the squad somehow it does help your younger players develop at a good rate and ultimately give them a better chance at developing.”