Vitality County Championship Match Preview: Glamorgan v Yorkshire

Vitality County Championship Match Preview: Glamorgan v Yorkshire

Can Yorkshire take a further step towards Division One cricket this week?

While the red rose county is at risk of the drop from Division One, their fierce rivals from across the Pennines have turned around a dismal start to the season to secure four wins and a draw from their last five Championship matches. This puts them in second place in Division Two, 15 points ahead of Middlesex, with promotion firmly in their hands. Upheaval is never far away from Headingley and the club (like many) is still in severe financial straits. Head coach Ottis Gibson will be leaving at the end of the season, along with Matthew Fisher moving to Surrey and Dom Leech to Northamptonshire. While Fisher has been beset by injury problems, he marked his return last week with a six wicket haul against Leicestershire.

Glamorgan have only won one Championship game this season and have lost two out of their last three matches, going down heavily to leaders Sussex last week. Undoubtedly this week they will have more than one eye on the One Day Cup final being played next Sunday and with the very limited playing resources at their disposal, some of their key performers may be wrapped in cotton wool. Timm van der Gugten has been the main threat with the ball and was rested for the last game. It is possible he will miss out again, but in his absence the seam attack is limited. Ned Leonard has come in on loan from Somerset and shown some good signs without taking many wickets. He should start given he may be lining up against Glamorgan in the cup final. Ben Morris could make his Championship debut allowing Andy Gorvin or Dan Douthwaite to put their feet up. James Harris was injured for the One Day Cup, while Jamie McIlroy has not featured in recent Championship games, but was highly effective alongside van der Gugten in the 50-over competition.

Mason Crane has been Glamorgan’s leading wicket taker with 27 at 44.85, but he missed the last game with a pelvic injury. It seems unlikely he will be involved in the Cup final, even if he recovers, as he played in the Hundred. Ben Kellaway has been effective in the One Day competition and took a maiden fifer against Sussex, but has had some fitness issues in recent weeks and may also be held back.

Yorkshire will be looking to press for the win and have the bowlers who can deliver. Alongside Fisher, Ben Coad is the second highest wicket taker in Division Two with 44 at 16.54, while Jordan Thompson has 28 wickets at 29.71. George Hill also chipped in last week with six for 59 to wrap up the win. Matthew Revis is out for the rest of the season with a back injury, while Matt Milnes is recovering from a similar problem. Dom Bess was the favoured spin option over Dan Moriarty in the last game, although was not needed. With the return to the Dukes ball this week, seam might be the way to go, although pitches in Cardiff are notoriously slow.

Both sides have some talented batters, although Glamorgan’s failed to deliver last week. They are bereft of openers, with Eddie Byrom out injured and it is always a bit of a mystery as to who will walk out, given the number of batters that have been used over recent years. Yorkshire are benefitting from the absence of Jonny Bairstow from the England white ball side and he delivered with a century in the last match.

When these two teams met back in May, Yorkshire had set themselves up in a winning position with a 298 run first innings lead, thanks to big centuries from Finlay Bean and Joe Root, before weather and centuries from Sam Northeast and Colin Ingram kept them out. Glamorgan will need a big effort from their batters this week if they want to hold Yorkshire, as there is a big gap between the two bowling attacks.

Key players:

Glamorgan’s Kiran Carlson had an excellent start to the summer in both the Championship and the Blast, but the runs dried up in the One Day cup. Things have picked up since the restart of the Championship, making four half centuries in his last five innings. He has four more innings to get the 119 runs he needs to reach the 1000 mark for the second year in a row and keep his name in the minds of the England selectors, perhaps for a Lions outing. He will also have hopes of making his mark in the One Day cup final.

Finlay Bean is an old school opener who has yet to taint his skills with a Blast appearance. At 22-years-old he could not have a better mentor 22 yards away from him than Adam Lyth and the two form one of the best opening pairs in the county game. He has now scored 1776 runs in 28 first class games at a commendable average for an opener of 38.60. He had an excellent 2023 in which he made 983 runs at 46.80, including three centuries, although he has dropped off slightly this season, with 655 runs at 34.47. He certainly favours red ball cricket, scoring just 242 runs from 16 List A innings, but he still has time on his side.

Team News:

For Glamorgan, we wait to see who is rested for the One Day Cup final.

Glamorgan squad (from): Sam Northeast (c), Kiran Carlson, Chris Cooke (wk), Mason Crane, Dan Douthwaite, Andy Gorvin, James Harris, Colin Ingram, Ben Kellaway, Ned Leonard, Ben Morris, Billy Root, Will Smale, Asa Tribe, Timm van der Gugten

Yorkshire will be wanting to get their strongest team on the field given the competition for the two promotion spots. They have had six days rest and could field an unchanged side.

Yorkshire Squad (from): Jonathan Tatersall (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Finlay Bean, Dom Bess, Ben Cliff, Ben Coad, Matthew Fisher, George Hill, Noah Kelly, Will Luxton, Adam Lyth, Dan Moriarty, Jordan Thompson, James Wharton

Weather and Conditions

The forecast is for dry and warmer weather with temperatures up to 21°C.

The last game at Sophia Gardens was played on a hybrid pitch, but only one is available. The usual product will offer the best chance for the bowlers on day one, flattening out as the game progresses and the heavy rollers have their effect.

Date: 17th September 2024

Time: 10:30

Ground: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

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