LLoyd has a blast to set up Glamorgan

JAMES Anderson has not been named in the England squad for the first Test with Pakistan at Lord’s as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury.

Middlesex seamer Toby RolandJones has been called up for the first time and is likely to be competing with Jake Ball, who is also uncapped, for a place in next Thursday’s first Test.

Gary Ballance has been recalled to the squad for the first time in a year, with the Yorkshire batsman preferred to both Jos Buttler, who has been GLAMORGAN continued their remarkable form in the NatWest T20 Blast at the Swalec Stadium against Sussex with a win that extended their undefeated run in the competition to seven matches.

A 55-ball 81 from David Lloyd set up a total that was about par on a slow Cardiff pitch but it was made to look a lot more valuable than that when Glamorgan’s Dutch bowler Timm van der Gugten ripped apart the Sussex top order at the start of the Sussex chase.

The story of Glamorgan’s season has been the coming of age of Lloyd. He made his third first-class hundred of the season against these same opponents on Wednesday and last night he continued that fine run of form.

He looked all set to pass his career best T20 score of 97 not out made against Kent this season but he fell in the 17th over.

He mistimed a pull shot off Chris Jordan and the ball looped up for a simple catch for Philip Salt.

Lloyd shared decent partnerships with Colin Ingram and Jacques Rudolph, but he was the most impressive Glamorgan batsman by a distance.

The next highest score was Rudolph with 24 who had dropped himself down to four in the order as he searches for a return to form.

Rudolph had looked very well set in this innings, at one point hitting a massive six off Chris Nash that is now residing at the bottom of the River Taff. Just when it appeared that he might make his first truly significant T20 contribution of 2016, he drilled a ball from Nuwan Kulasekara to Luke Wright in the covers.

A four-over spell from England bowler’s Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills in the final overs prevented Glamorgan from getting a truly daunting total.

Mills was particularly impressive as he took two wickets for three runs in his two overs at the death. He bowled with pace and accuracy showing why he made his England bow this week. impressive in the shorter forms, and Ben Stokes, who is on the comeback trail after knee surgery.

Skipper Alastair Cook is hopeful Anderson, 33, can be involved for the second Test at Old Trafford.

“Jimmy has been touch and go for a while,” Cook said of the bowler, who was injured during the third Test against Sri Lanka in June.

“He is making really good progress but it is the selectors’ view that he just won’t be quite ready for that first Test, hopefully he can be for the second.”

With Anderson’s absence confirmed,

Glamorgan stumbled to a total of 159-8, but it ended up being more than enough as the ever more impressive van der Gugten took three wickets in three overs at the start of the Sussex innings to leave them 22-3 in the seventh over.

With the Sussex top order gone the run rate just kept going up, but a partnership between Ross Taylor and Matt Machan that was worth 37 gave Sussex some hope. When both of those men fell within seven balls of each other any feint chance of an away win were gone.

With that partnership broken it became a procession of Sussex wickets as they finished on 113 all out.

Michael Hogan, Craig Meschede and Graham Wagg picked up two it is set to be Roland-Jones and Ball going head-to-head to fill the vacant seamers’ spot.

The former has taken 30 wickets for Middlesex in the County Championship this season and Cook has been impressed by the 28-year-old.

“Toby has had a really good summer so far and has been there or thereabouts for the last three years or so,” he said.

“His bowling stats have improved a lot and he is a very decent bowler and it will be good to see him around the squad for the first time this week.” wickets. Shaun Tait bowled very fast on his return to Glamorgan after his brief spell with the club in 2010 but he was the only seamer to go wicketless.

Stuart Broad will lead the bowling attack when the Lord’s Test begins next week and he knows plenty about Ball’s capabilities having spent time up close with the 25-year-old at Nottinghamshire.

“He started the season in fantastic form and took a huge amount of wickets,” said Broad. “He has had a slight elbow niggle to make him rest and make sure he is 100 per cent fit for this series.”

But the star was Van der Gugten who finished with figures of 4-17, his second four wicket haul in T20 cricket this season. WELSH 400m hurdler Rhys Williams kept alive his Rio dream after running another Olympics qualification time at the European Championships semi-finals in Amsterdam.

Williams finished second in his race and equalled his season best of 49.22secs to ensure he had two times under the Olympics qualification time of 49.40secs this year.

The 32-year-old Cardiff AAC athlete finished third in the British Championships and Olympics trials and will need to rely on the discretion of the selectors to be selected for Rio after reaching the semi-finals at London 2012.

Another qualifying time and a faster time in tonight’s final could sway their judgement. Wales has one athlete qualified for Rio in the shape of 400m runner Seren BundyDavies who is one of 21 sports stars destined for Brazil so far.

Four years ago Williams failed to finish in the top two at the British Championships and needed to go to the European Championships in Helsinki for his final chance to achieve Olympics qualification.

Williams won gold on that occasion to clinch his place at London 2012. Another continental crown would be welcome but perhaps more important for the Welshman would be handed a place for Rio. WHILE the whole nation followed Wales’ amazing journey into the semi-final of the Euros, the sporting action continues this weekend with the hotly-anticipated Adrian Flux British FIM Speedway Grand Prix in Cardiff tomorrow at the Principality Stadium.

This year’s thrilling GP promises all the fast-paced action that comes with one of motorsport’s most anticipated events, with double world champion, Tai Woffinden, looking on top form after winning the Warsaw SGP last time out in front of 52,000 fans and fending off triple world champion Greg Hancock, who is currently top of the championship standings.

And the action won’t just be contained within the stadium, as the biggest ever fanzone will take place outside City Hall 11am-4pm.

Gates open for the Adrian Flux British FIM Speedway Grand Prix at 3.30pm and the event will get going with a wealth of pre-event entertainment.

Engines will fire up at 5pm and tickets, which start from £25, will be available to buy on the day from Ticketline on Westgate Street and at Gate Three at the WRU Store.