Have you Wintered well? Part 17: Glamorgan

Have you Wintered well? Part 17: Glamorgan

At a time when we are all missing the cricket season, our writers endeavour to keep you happy with some county-by-county information on Winter activity. Jonny Colledge brings you the update from Cardiff. Please note that all information given is correct at time of publication.

Glamorgan
Markus Labuschagne. Picture courtesy of Glamorgan Cricket TV on Youtube, with thanks

When it comes to quiet winters, Glamorgan have been practically silent, but that may be how they want it to be. The Welsh county had a decent County Championship season in 2019, finishing just 15 points away from promotion. However, their one-win Blast campaign was disastrous. 

They could have decided to panic and change their squad personnel, but instead they have opted for consistency to bring a change of fortunes. 

The choice of few signings has been brought about by the finances at Glamorgan. The club is still in debt despite making a profit last year, meaning there is little room for expenditure. 

One signing they have made is the re-signing overseas player Marnus Labuschagne. Last year was an extraordinary breakthrough year for the Australian batsmen, who made his Test debut at Lord’s and hasn’t looked back.

Despite his newfound international stardom Labuschagne has committed to another summer of cricket in South Wales. This signing will again bring plenty of runs to the batting line up, a line up that also boasts Chris Cooke, Timm van der Gugten and Billy Root. All these players averaged over 35 with the bat in the Championship, allowing Glamorgan to collect points regularly with a batting line-up to rival any in the second division.

It may be a surprise that a Division 1 outfit did not tempt Labuschagne for this summer, but this shows his commitment to Glamorgan and how much he enjoyed his time in Cardiff. 

Glamorgan have released Jeremy Lawlor and Kazi Szymanki this summer after both failed to make an impression over the last 12 months.

Other than losing two players they had intended to lose, Glamorgan have managed to retain everybody else. This is huge for the side as it allows for consistency within the squad; even the overseas player is the same. This is ideal for a side to build togetherness and relationships with each other, allowing them to win more games of cricket. 

Because Glamorgan have kept the squad the same, they can work on their problems and improve them for this year – mainly their T20 problems. 

On the other hand, if the problems are still there come the first game, then there is little they can do at that stage to rectify them. They could well finish bottom again, if the problem was indeed the quality of the individuals.

It is a gamble not signing any new players, however, it has worked before and Glamorgan don’t really have any alternative given their financial problems. 

They can expect to be competitive in the Division 2 once more, especially if Labuschagne finds the form of last summer. Glamorgan will also hope another year of experience can improve their limited overs success.

However, it would be ambitious to expect the same group of players to finish bottom of the group in 2019, then to make a finals day appearance in 2020. Stranger things have happened though and, if Ingram’s side can build momentum from a good start, a miracle could happen. 

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