We won’t take Glam lightly, says Dawson
GLOUCESTERSHIRE coach Richard Dawson is adamant his side won’t be taking the challenge of Glamorgan lightly heading into the four-day game at Cheltenham today.
The Welsh county head across the Severn on the back of handing Derbyshire their first County Championship victory in 710 days when 16-year-old debutant Hamidullah Qadri spun his side to a 39-run win in Cardiff.
But Dawson admits wins over Durham and Worcestershire this summer show Glamorgan have match-winners who must be respected.
“They have a good balance with guys like Michael Hogan, Marchant de Lange, Jacques Rudolph and Colin Ingram alongside some lads making their way in their careers,” he said.
“They have players who can change a game, so you can never take them lightly.”
The Welsh county were victorious seven years ago, which was the last time they played a Championship fixture at Cheltenham, with Glamorgan winning by 176 runs in July 2010 as current coach Robert Croft dramatically ended the contest with a superb hat-trick.
In fact, Glamorgan have a decent record at the attractive College ground, having had the better of a drawn game at the 1991 Cheltenham Festival, winning by two wickets in 2002, and then in 2006, recording a 10-wicket victory after Michael Powell had scored a magnificent 299 – the second highest individual innings for the Welsh county.
For a while, it looked as if the Glamorgan batsman might break both Steve James’ club record of 309 not out, besides surpassing the unbeaten 318 made by the legendary WG Grace at Cheltenham in 1876.
But on 299 he was caught behind from the spin bowling of Ian Fisher.
However, another outstanding bowling performance by Croft, who claimed a 13-wicket match haul saw Gloucestershire dismissed twice, before some lusty blows from Brendan McCullum saw Glamorgan home on the final afternoon, and just before the rains descended.
“You get value here as a batsman and a bowler,” added Dawson.
“The boundaries are quite short, so it is a quick scoring ground, but if you put the ball in the right areas there is enough to keep you interested. It’s decent cricket and with the crowd close to the play it’s a good atmosphere all round.”
Glamorgan pick from a 14-man squad, with Lukas Carey, David Lloyd and Tom Cullen added to the XI that lost to Derbyshire.
But Will Bragg is still unfit, the batsman having also missed the previous loss at Durham.