The Glamorgan season has gone much the same way as those of the last few years, with early season hope in the County Championship falling away, disappointment in the Blast, but something to cheer about in the One Day Cup. With only Mason Crane involved in the Hundred they were able to field a more experienced eleven than most other counties in the 50-over competition and went on to repeat their success of 2021. However just two wins in the four day format (the second a contrived result in the last game of the season) highlights the bowling deficiencies, with a heavy reliance on the excellent Timm van der Gugten. Unfortunately he came into the season with a calf injury suffered while playing for the Netherlands and missed the early fixtures. Nevertheless he led the Championship wicket taking with 30 at 21.96 from just seven matches. While James Harris also took 30 wickets, his came at a cost of 36.13 runs each. Pakistani seamer Mir Hamza was signed for the early part of the season and managed 12 wickets at 35.50 in his six Championship games, but Andy Gorvin has been the big positive for new Glamorgan coach Grant Bradburn, with his gentle medium pace. He bowls wicket to wicket and his accuracy has been rewarded with 24 Championship wickets at an excellent 23.95. He has only been selected in seven matches, but will undoubtedly feature more in 2025.
Glamorgan have lacked any real spin threat since the days of Robert Croft and Dean Cosker, but brought in leg spinner Mason Crane on loan from Hampshire. He had had minimal red ball cricket at Southampton in recent years, but has taken 29 wickets in 11 Championship starts, although again they are coming at a rather expensive 44.37 runs each. This return is not going to win games, but he has now been signed on a three year deal. 20-year-old Ben Kellaway came to prominence in last year’s One Day cup, as an off spinning all rounder and has played an important part in Glamorgan’s success in that competition this year, bowling both left and right handed. He has also been introduced into the Championship side and in his six first class games has taken a promising 12 wickets at 27.50.
Both Colin Ingram and Sam Northeast passed 1000 runs for the season, but while Ingram showed excellent consistency, passing 50 in each of the 11 matches he played, Northeast was more feast and famine. Kiran Carlson had another excellent Championship season, scoring 923 runs at 40.13, while Marnus Labuschagne played just four matches, making 468 runs at 58.50. Given his relative lack of availability, alongside the productivity of Ingram and the need to bolster the bowling, it may be that this is the last season Labuschagne will spend in Cardiff.
In the Blast, Glamorgan never really mounted a serious challenge for a quarter final spot, winning and losing matches in equal frequency. Labuschagne and Ingram were the overseas players and again the bowling lacked the punch to take key wickets. Things could have been different if they had not thrown away a winning position against the eventual champions Gloucestershire. At 90/7 after 16 overs chasing 141, Gloucestershire were in trouble, but 70 from 48 balls by captain Jack Taylor left them needing five from the last ball and Josh Shaw promptly cleared the ropes.
Success came in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, the trophy secured by a win over the unfortunate Somerset in the final. Despite the struggles in the other two competitions, it was the bowling on which the record of eight wins from nine completed games was based. Timm van der Gugten and Jamie McIlroy did not given anything away in the opening powerplay, allowing Dan Douthwaite, Gorvin and Kellaway to take wickets in the middle overs. None of the batters have scored heavily, but the strength of the bowling has meant they have not needed big totals. Ingram and Billy Root scored 297 and 296 runs respectively and they came up with the goods when needed.
Results:
Vitality CC: Sixth in Division Two
Vitality Blast: Sixth in the South Group
Metro Bank ODC: Winners
Leading run-scorers:
Vitality CC: Colin Ingram 1351 at 90.06
Vitality Blast: Kiran Carlson 380 at 29.23; Strike rate 158.33
Metro Bank ODC: Colin Ingram 297 at 59.40; Strike rate 102.06
Leading wicket-takers:
Vitality CC: Timm van der Gugten 30 at 21.96
Vitality Blast: Mason Crane 19 at 18.84; Economy rate 8.52
Metro Bank ODC: Andy Gorvin 19 at 18.52; Economy rate 5.15
Player of the season:
Since the departure of Michael Hogan and Michael Neser, Glamorgan have relied heavily on Timm van der Gugten to produce wickets with the new ball. He missed the first six Championship games, but in the seven in which he has played, he has been the one real threat with the ball. He was the club’s second highest wicket taker in the Blast with 16 wickets at an economy rate of 8.56, but it was in the One Day cup that he was invaluable. While Gorvin and Douthwaite led him in wicket taking, it was van der Gugten alongside McIlroy with the new balls that strangled the opposition batting, van der Gugten’s 14 wickets taken with an exceptional economy rate of 3.46 runs per over.
Van der Gugten has also made important contributions with the bat, as demonstrated by his 26 off nine balls that took Glamorgan’s total in the One Day Cup final to a dominant one, while in the Championship he has accumulated 231 runs at 28.87.
It is no surprise that Glamorgan have renewed his contract for another three years.
Breakthrough Player
Andy Gorvin is 27, but has come late to professional cricket, making his Championship debut in 2022. He is not the type of bowler that Rob Key really wants to see prospering in first class cricket, delivering the ball at not much more than 70mph, but in a side where taking wickets at an average in the twenties has been at a premium, he has succeeded where others have failed. He only featured in one of the rounds played with the Kookaburra ball, taking one for 63 in the innings defeat to Sussex, but he bowls a nagging wicket-to-wicket line. He has also found a way in white ball formats, joint leading wicket taker in the One Day Cup with 19 wickets at an economy rate of 5.15 as well as eight wickets in the Blast with an economy of 8.25.
Could have done better
This section is going to be a repeat of last year’s comments. The lack of bowlers who can take enough wickets at an average in the twenties is a problem. Coach Grant Bradburn has highlighted the problem saying “I don’t think our recruitment has been very good in recent years.” Labuschagne has had only limited availability and Glamorgan have been unable to recruit a match winning strike bowler. Crane has taken wickets, but been expensive and the hope will be that Kellaway continues to improve.
Need to work on
Kellaway and Will Smale have made progress from the Academy, but there has not been a pace bowler who has made a real mark and gone on since Harris. Those who have come in have either fallen away or had to retire because of injury. Ben Morris has made a couple of appearances, but is inconsistent and it looks as though Glamorgan will cast their net further afield, with the possible introduction of Ned Leonard and Paul van Meekeren, who have been involved in first and second team cricket in the last month. Glamorgan have been relatively fortunate with injuries, but with such a small group of players that are utilised in all formats, they have been reliant on loanees on a number of occasions during the season.
As with a number of counties, they are also short of opening batters and it is unfortunate that they have had to press young players, making their way in the game, into the role.
What’s next?
Bradburn will be keen to start building a squad he feels can take the club forward, but is likely to be limited by the financial resources available. What is clear is that without an improved bowling attack Glamorgan are not going to win enough matches to be in the promotion race in the Championship.
Season Rating
The win in the Metro Bank One Day cup is something to celebrate, but it should not divert people’s attention from the need to strengthen the squad, particularly with regard to pace bowling. They were well off the pace in the Championship and Blast.
Mark: 6/10
