Rudolph Basks in Crucial Win

25 Jun 2015 | Cricket
Glamorgan recorded their fourth straight victory in the LV= County Championship Division Two, wrapping up a 137 run victory over Leicestershire after lunch on Day Four.
The win was the first time since 2004 the club has managed such a feat and captain Jacques Rudolph was delighted with the way his team overcame a stolid Leicestershire fightback.

Rudolph said: I thought again our bowlers stood up this morning, I said last night that I think if we bowl well this morning that they are going to be in trouble. It was nice to see [Colin] Ingram turning his arm over and he bowled nicely giving our steamers a bit of a rest, but looking back over the four days it was another good one for us in the terms of how we played our cricket especially with our backs against the wall at some points in the game.

One of the main morale boosters from the game for Rudolph was how the five-pronged bowling attack shared the workload in hot conditions. The South African also heaped praise on Andrew Salter after the 22-year-old made his maiden first-class half-century for Glamorgan.

Rudolph added: That's what we've been doing well, we haven't relied on one or two people to get us over the line, everyone has been chipping in and everyone's attitudes have been spot on.

We had a bit of a blip with the bat yesterday but Andy Salter has come to the fore and scored a 50 and Hogan got a good partnership going as well to get us back into the game. I'm very pleased about how we are playing at the moment.

Rudolph's efforts in the second innings were a crucial foundation in the win, battling his way to 74 off 230 balls in a crucial partnership with Ingram. Rudolph also credited a disciplined Leicestershire attack who made it hard to score.

He said: It was a very good wicket yesterday and the spell of discipline bowling by the Leicestershire bowlers was potentially the best we've probably faced this season. It was difficult for us to get off the mark.

I knew that even if you bat with Graham Wagg who immediately hit 6 and 4 you gather a bit of momentum and they got slightly more defensively. I thought we read the situation quite well even if we did have our backs against the wall.

With the club still in the mix in all domestic competitions, Rudolph believes his side can continue their form throughout the rest of the season.

I would like to believe so, it's very important in situations like this, especially if you get on a bit of a run to try and stick to the basics as sometimes you can get a bit above yourself and over confident. My message to the boys will be to just keep sticking with what they've been doing and hopefully we will keep winning games.

After two defeats to Essex and Sussex in the NatWest T20 Blast Glamorgan will look to bounce back against Surrey, in a game highlighted as a huge game if Glamorgan are to progress to the quarter-finals and Rudolph said it is crucial for his side to regain momentum.

I think looking back after the last few weeks we haven't been very good at going from the 4 day game into the T20 and that's something I will address with the guys. 2 weeks ago we were playing some brilliant T20 cricket so it would be nice to get that momentum and winning feeling back.

Glamorgan's game with Surrey tomorrow sees Wayne Parnell's final game at The SSE SWALEC this season and Rudolph was quick to note the influence he has had on the dressing room in his time here.

Rudolph continued: Wayne has been brilliant around the dressing room by sharing his knowledge with the guys and on top of that he has bowled really well for us.

I know the last game didn't go well for us but hopefully we can get away with 2 wins this weekend which we know is a massive challenge and he can fly to Bangladesh on Monday knowing he has helped us over the line.

Tickets are available for Glamorgan's clash with Surrey on Friday night: www.glamorgancricket.co.uk/t20