Hogan in return to action for Glamorgan

CHAMPIONSHIP skipper Michael Hogan returns to the Glamorgan squad for their Division Two clash against Derbyshire at St Helen’s, Swansea, today (11am).

Hogan missed the second half of the county’s Royal London One-Day Cup campaign and the four-day defeat to Warwickshire last week with a hamstring problem, but he returns to the 12-man squad which also includes batsman Kiran Carlson, who has finished his studies at Cardiff University.

Glamorgan Pathway player Prem Sisodiya makes his maiden appearance in the squad. The leftarm spinner also featured for England under-19’s in their ICC Cricket World Cup campaign earlier this year.

After their defeat to Warwickshire away at Edgbaston, Glamorgan now prepare for back-to-back home games against Derbyshire at St. Helen’s and Northamptonshire at Sophia Gardens Cardiff. Returning skipper Hogan has been frustrated not to contribute but is looking forward to leading the county again.

“We want to win every game,” said Hogan. “Derbyshire have been playing well this year and have got an experienced line-up. I suppose they don’t have too many test players but they have experience and have players in form so it’ll be tough for us this week.

“I don’t think there’s real pressure on us at this moment in time. It is a what if scenario, but if we had got over the line against Leicestershire then would be sitting third in the table and we’d be having a different conversation about the pressure on us.”

The experienced seamer believes the squad are learning through experience despite a frustrating run of results.

“I think there were some good things to take away from the Warwickshire game,” added Hogan.

“The one-day tournament was a source of frustration for us with some key injuries and I suppose it’s been a common theme where there have been games that we could and should have won.

“It has been a learning experience for the boys but I’m sure that we’ll be better for it as the season goes on.

“We said at the start of the season that we’re looking to build a team for the future, so we have quite a young squad for this week again.

“It’s experience for a few boys but we are looking for more consistency across the board.

“Prem Sisodiya has done really well for our second XI over the last few weeks, so we like what he offers with both bat and ball,”

Glamorgan 12-man squad to face Derbyshire:

Hogan (C), Lloyd, Selman, Khawaja, Murphy, Carlson, Morgan, Salter, Cooke, Carey, Sisodiya, Lawlor.