After their foray this week in T20 cricket, Glamorgan travel to New Road to play Worcestershire in their next game in the LV=Insurance County Championship with the four-day match getting under way at 1100am on Sunday, 26 June. (writes Andrew Hignell)
Glamorgan were beaten by 155 runs in 2019 on their most recent visit to New Road in Championship cricket, at a time when the Welsh county were pressing for promotion into Division One. However, their hopes evaporated during the second half of the match as, firstly, Daryl Mitchell, the home team’s vastly experienced opening batter, completed a chanceless century to leave Glamorgan needing 312 to win. They were dismissed however inside just 39 overs after Nick Selman edged the second ball to second slip, before Kraigg Brathwaite, the West Indian batter, was run-out. Things went from bad to worse as David Lloyd was bowled via pad and boot, before Billy Root skewed a ball to backward point which struck Ed Barnard, only for the fielder to clutch onto the rebound. With their tails up, the home bowlers continued to take wickets at regular intervals, with the end to the game, and Glamorgan’s promotion’s aspirations, coming as the Cathedral bells were striking 5pm.
Glamorgan were victorious at New Road in June 2017 as they recorded a nine-wicket victory. Such an outcome had looked unlikely earlier in the match as Glamorgan ended the first day’s play on 76-6. But an action-packed second day saw the contest turned on its head as firstly Jacques Rudolph and Chris Cooke added 168 for the seventh wicket before the riposte continued in a spirited fashion as Andrew Salter and Lukas Carey added 124 for the ninth wicket with a flurry of savage blows. Michael Hogan then took 5/38 as Worcestershire’s batsmen capitulated to leave Glamorgan celebrating a victory inside three days.
Worcester was also the scene of a dramatic - and successful - game for the Welsh county in 2016 as Owen Morgan, Glamorgan’s night-watchman batted throughout the final day to guide his side to a five-wicket victory and at the same time to post his maiden first-class century. His efforts followed a fine bowling by Graham Wagg, who claimed five wickets in Worcestershire’s second innings to leave the visitors with a target of 277 from 105 overs.
Worcestershire had recorded emphatic victories over Glamorgan in their previous two meetings at New Road, with the game in July 2014 seeing the home side win by 249 runs after a century from Tom Fell, plus a twelve-wicket match-haul from Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistani spinner. Moeen Ali had been the star of the show for Worcestershire in the contest at New Road in 2013, posting a superb 250, with his efforts helping his side to enforce the follow-on as they bowled out Glamorgan twice before easing to an eight-wicket victory.