Glamorgan launch their bid to return to Edgbaston for Finals Day in the Vitality Blast with a tough trip to Hampshire on Friday and star Aussie signing Usman Khawaja believes they have the skill and experience to enjoy another successful campaign.
Khawaja has only been in Wales for a month, but says he already feels at home, enjoying the Welsh environment and having the opportunity to adapt to British conditions far earlier than he expected.
He had initially been signed for the Blast, but Shaun Marsh’s elevation to Australia’s one-day squad led to an earlier move – meaning he is already nicely settled having made an impact in Championship cricket, before the switch to T20 this week.
“I was delighted to come over earlier than expected, meet my new team-mates and get involved in some county games sooner than I had thought,” said Khawaja, who has scored centuries in each of his three Championship appearances.
“T20 is so different to four-day cricket. It’s a team-based format, where everyone is working to achieve the same goal in an unselfish environment. You haven’t got much, if any, time to settle - but having said that, T20 cricket is not all about slogging. You pick your bowler and adapt accordingly.”
Khawaja should give Glamorgan plenty of top-order firepower with captain Colin Ingram, but believes there is much more to their T20 strength than that – as they showed in finishing top of the South Group last season, with seven wins and only three defeats.
“We’ve got plenty of capable batsmen to follow and post sizeable totals,” he added. “Among the bowlers, Michael Hogan is still one of the most skilful operators in the game, while Graham Wagg is vastly experienced.”
After Friday’s trip to Southampton, where Hampshire will be buoyant after their triumph in last Saturday’s Royal London One-Day Cup final, Glamorgan have an attractive home opener on Sunday against a Sussex Sharks team including two of the rising stars of white-ball cricket in Jofra Archer and Rashid Khan, the Afghanistan leg-spinner.
Article written by Edward Bevan for the ECB's Reporters Network