Top meets bottom in Group B
These two sides sit at opposite ends of the table after three matches, which might seem a little odd given their differing fortunes in the Blast, where Sussex have reached a home quarter final. Sussex have undoubtedly been hit harder by call ups to the Hundred, losing their key strike bowlers Tymal Mills and Ollie Robinson as well as Daniel Hughes, James Coles, Tom Alsop and Harrison Ward. Ward had been called up as cover for Gus Atkinson until the end of the Test series, but still appears to be with the Oval Invincibles. Glamorgan have been less inconvenienced, with Mason Crane in the Welsh Fire squad and Marnus Labuschagne having returned home. Chris Cooke was due to be part of the Welsh Fire outfit, but has been ruled out by a calf injury.
Glamorgan started their One Day Cup campaign with a tight contest against Gloucestershire, coming out winners thanks to their bowlers removing the last five batters for just three runs. They then had more comfortable wins against Surrey and Nottinghamshire. Glamorgan will have been pleased to see contributions from all their batters and bowlers, in particular a return to form of opener Eddie Byrom, who made an unbeaten century in the victory over Nottinghamshire, as did Colin Ingram. The bowling is heavily reliant on Timm van der Gugten and Jamie McIlroy with James Harris out injured, but Andy Gorvin has put in some steady performances with his medium pace, picking up 5/56 against Notts. The lack of a front line spinner is a weakness.
Sussex posted inadequate first innings totals in their first two matches and were then unable to chase down a target of 262 set by Yorkshire, having looked on course at 118/2 in the 23rd over. They have decided to rest John Simpson, Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Jack Carson for the games this week, suggesting that Sussex may be more focussed on the Championship, where they are clear at the top of Division Two and the Blast. They have taken the opportunity to give some of their younger players a run out and will not be helped by the fixture arrangements giving them a long trip from York, where they played on Wednesday, down to South Wales. They need to win five of their remaining six games to have a chance of qualifying
When these two sides met in this competition last year it was Glamorgan who came out on top, chasing down 277 at Hove, with 21 balls to spare. Zain ul Hassan took 4/25 and Kiran Carlson, who has not bowled yet in this campaign, took 3/43. Fynn Hudson-Prentice (66) and James Coles (59) both contributed with the bat, but will be absent for this game, while Tom Haines also made 59. The two centurions from Glamorgan’s last game were also in the runs at Hove, Byrom scoring 69 and Ingram 73.
Given the form shown by the two sides going into this game, Glamorgan will start firm favourites and if they can make it four wins from four will be well on their way to a top three spot and the knock out stages. Twelve points should guarantee qualification, while ten is often enough.
Key players:
Will Smale is a 23-year-old batter who has been coming in at the top of the order for Glamorgan in white ball formats this year. He is an aggressive striker of the ball, favouring the leg side and scored 59 off 34 balls in the last Blast game against Somerset. He made a useful 37 from 39 balls in the last game and will be keen to make the most of this opportunity.
Wicket keeper, batter Oli Carter might consider himself unfortunate to have lost his first team spot following the recruitment of John Simpson in the off season. He was given an opportunity in the last two Championship games as a batter when Hughes was injured and made 96 in his first innings. He played four matches in the Blast, making just 39 runs and will be hoping to do better in this competition than he did in 2023, when he contributed just 104 runs in six innings. He has made a couple of starts and looked to be taking Sussex towards the Yorkshire total in the last game, making 43 from 55 balls before sweeping Dan Moriarty straight to the fielder on the deep square leg boundary. He needs some big scores in the next two weeks.
Team News
The squad has been announced for the two games in Neath. Sam Northeast was included, having returned from injury, but did not feature against Notts. Zain ul Hassan is also fit again and played a second team game this week.
Glamorgan squad: Kiran Carlson (c), Tom Bevan, Eddie Byrom, Dan Douthwaite, Andy Gorvin, Alex Horton, Henry Hurle, Colin Ingram, Ben Kellaway, Jamie McIlroy, Ben Morris, Sam Northeast, Billy Root, Asa Tribe, Will Smale (wk), Timm van der Gugten,
It seems likely Sussex will stick with the squad that travelled to York.
Sussex squad (probable): Tom Clark (c), Jack Campbell, Carter, Henry Crocombe, Bertie Foreman, Tom Haines, Sean Hunt, Danial Ibrahim, Aristides Karvelas, Archie Lenham, Zach Lion-Cachet, Henry Rogers, Charlie Tear.
Weather and Conditions
Temperatures are forecast to be a little lower, but it should be dry and sunny.
There was a bit of help for the bowlers on the pitch used for Glamorgan’s game on Wednesday and it is likely the side winning the toss will want to bowl first. However the boundaries are small and 300 is likely to be par.
Date: 2nd August 2024
Time: 11:00am
Ground: Neath Cricket Club, Neath
