Warwickshire will be hoping to make it three from three at the Gnoll.
After a washout on Tuesday, Glamorgan will be hoping the sun shines for their second fixture at the club ground in Neath. Durham had made the long trip down and it was disappointing that the game was called off by lunchtime, without a ball bowled. The forecast looks much better for this fixture and the visitors will be keen to get on the field on the back of comfortable wins against Somerset and Gloucestershire. While Somerset have been severely depleted by Hundred call-ups, Gloucestershire have a relatively intact squad that had won its previous two games. They were dismissed for just 120, the wickets spread between the Warwickshire attack of three seamers; Ed Barnard, Oliver Hannon-Dolby and Craig Miles and the two spinners; Danny Briggs and Jake Lintott. Chris Rushworth is recovering from a hamstring injury so is unlikely to be available. In a surprise move, Ed Barnard has gone to the top of the batting order and it paid off in the Somerset game where he made 94, to help chase down a target of 231. While they have lost a number of their batters to the Hundred, Warwickshire still have captain Will Rhodes, promising youngster Rob Yates, who scored an undefeated double century in a recent Championship game and Michael Burgess.
Glamorgan have only lost two players to the Hundred, plus club captain David Lloyd moving on loan to Derbyshire for this competition, prior to his full time transfer at the end of the season. Kiran Carlson is at the helm, as he was when Glamorgan won this competition in 2021. So far in this campaign they have been soundly beaten by Worcestershire, bowled out for 199 inside 42 overs and then they defeated Derbyshire, chasing down 299 for the loss of three wickets, with 17 balls to spare. Colin Ingram scored 115, but suffered a recurrence of a calf injury and is likely to miss this game. Sam Northeast had been rested for the first two games and he will be a more than adequate replacement for Ingram, having been the county’s leading run scorer in all competitions last year. They have benefited from the performances of 19-year-old Ben Kellaway, who top-scored in the defeat at New Road with 82 and has been more than useful with his off-spin, taking 3/41 against Derbyshire. He and Carlson fill vital all rounder roles, Carlson also bowling off-spin, enabling the selection of seven batters alongside four seamers. Jamies McIlroy and Ben Morris were omitted from the squad for the Durham game, McIlory being rested, allowing the inclusion of Glamorgan’s top wicket-taker in the Championship, Timm van der Gugten and Ruaidhri Smith, adding some extra pace to the attack.
These two teams last met in this competition in 2021, this time at Sophia Gardens. Glamorgan took the points, chasing down a target of 222. Carlson and Billy Root, the only survivors from the team that won the final that year, put on a century stand and both have been putting in solid Championship performances this season. The turnover of players is also evidenced by the fact that it is only Michael Burgess of this year’s Warwickshire team that took part in the game in 2021.
Glamorgan used the Neath ground last year for two of their One-Day matches and it was the team that chased who came out on top, first innings scores being 177 and 228. The Warwickshire bowling is their strength while it is the batters of the Welsh county that carry the weight of expectation. These two sides look evenly matched and hopefully the toss will not be too much of a factor.
Key players:
Kiran Carlson has a lot on his plate at the moment with the roles of captain, form batter and bowler. He has always shown himself to have plenty of energy and will need it. He is Glamorgan’s top run scorer in the Championship, with 888 at 52.23 and has 71 runs from his two outings in this competition so far. However, it is his off-spin that has been telling, having not bowled a huge amount over recent years. He took 4/48 in the defeat to Worcestershire and vitally it allows the inclusion of the extra batter to enhance the balance of the side.
Any player who opens the batting and bowling outside school cricket has to be taken seriously and Ed Barnard is currently filling both those roles in this competition. His move to Warwickshire at the end of last season was a huge disappointment to the Worcestershire supporters, but clearly he wanted to take on the challenges of first division cricket. So far he has scored 324 runs at 29.45 and taken 16 wickets at 38.56 in the Championship compared to 895 runs at 59.66 and 31 wickets at 39.83 last season, reflecting the significantly weaker bowling attacks in Division Two. Earlier on in his career he was talked about as a future England player and at the age of 27 he will be keen to get his name back in the spotlight as soon as possible.
Team News
It seems unlikely that Ingram will be fit and therefore we expect the same squad as named for the abandoned game against Durham.
Glamorgan squad (probable): Kiran Carlson (c), Tom Bevan, Eddie Byrom, Andy Gorvin, Alex Horton (wk), Ben Kellaway, Sam Northeast, Harry Podmore, Billy Root, Prem Sisodiya, Will Smale, Ruaidhri Smith, Zain ul Hassan, Timm van der Gugten
It has just been announced that Ethan Brookes will move to Worcestershire at the end of the season. There is no indication that this will impact his selection for this competition.
Warwickshire squad (probable): Will Rhodes (c), Ed Barnard, Michael Booth, Danny Briggs, Ethan Brookes, Michael Burgess (wk), Olly Hannon-Dalby, Jake Lintott, Craig Miles, Hamza Shaikh, Kai Smith, Theo Wylie, Rob Yates
Weather and Conditions
The forecast is for a dry day, so hopefully the ground will have dried up from the soaking it received earlier in the week.
The pitch will offer some help for the bowlers, particularly after the recent wet weather and it being under covers for a number of days. The captain winning the toss will undoubtedly want to bowl first, but accuracy with the ball will be crucial given the relatively short boundaries.
Date: 10th August 2023
Time: 11:00am
Ground: The Gnoll, Neath
