Glamorgan look to back up opening victory with a positive result at Lord’s
GLAMORGAN are gearing up for a first County Championship match at Lord’s since 2011 as coach Matthew Maynard lauded the Welsh county’s efforts to wrap up a win over Gloucestershire on Monday.
Hundreds from overseas player Shaun Marsh and Welshman David Lloyd set up a hard-fought win at Bristol as Glamorgan began their four-day campaign with a victory for the first time in four years.
Now they travel to the Home of Cricket hoping to replicate that form against recently-relegated Middlesex today.
“We emphasised in our pre-season preparations how important it was to be patient, and also to build partnerships,” said Maynard on the performance against Gloucestershire.
“They responded by sharing two century partnerships, and three others over fifty, and although we missed out on two batting points, our aim was to build a big score and put pressure on the opposition.”
Maynard’s appointment as batting consultant coach is clearly paying dividends, as is the move to give veteran seamer Michael Hogan the Championship captaincy.
And Hogan is expected to lead an all-seam attack at Lord’s with Dutch quick Timm van der Gugten ready to make his season’s debut.
“Everyone made a huge effort and we got there in the end,” said Hogan on the opening win.
He also praised opening bowler Lukas Carey, who has been making early inroads with the new ball in the past two seasons.
“He has worked hard during the winter, lost some weight and spent some time with the ECB which has helped him develop his skills,” added the 36-year-old, who will urge his team-mates to soak up the trip to Lord’s.
“It can be a daunting experience for any young player appearing at the Home of Cricket,” Hogan added.
“But we will sit down with the squad and chat about the occasion. Middlesex have home advantage and know their pitches, had and have already had a resounding win against Northants in the opening game.”
The London county will welcome back England batsman Dawid Malan to lead their side, but former Glamorgan bowler James Harris is expected to be sidelined with injury.
Middlesex and England seamer Toby Roland-Jones has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2018 season with a recurrence of the stress fracture he suffered last year.
Eoin Morgan, Nick Gubbins and Steven Finn are also out for the hosts, while Glamorgan have the luxury of a clean bill of health and are expected to omit spinner Andrew Salter for van der Gugten with neither Craig Meschede or Graham Wagg included in head coach Robert Croft’s four-day plans as things stand.
Middlesex probable XI: Holden, Robson, Eskinazi, Malan (capt.), Cartwright, Simpson, Franklin, Scott, Rayner, Murtagh, Helm
Glamorgan probable XI: Selman, Murphy, Marsh, Carlson, Donald, Cooke, Lloyd, de Lange, van der Gugten, Carey, Hogan (capt.)