A first for Glamorgan as they are set for double header with the Storm
GLAMORGAN will play their first double-header along with Western Storm women’s regional team in 2023.
The Welsh county’s T20 match against Surrey on Wednesday, 7 June will be preceded by Western Storm taking on Nottinghambased Blaze in Cardiff.
But Glamorgan are still considering their use of outgrounds in 2023 as the county fixture list is published.
They seem likely to stage two One-Day Cup games at Neath again, though this is yet to be confirmed.
A return to north Wales remains in the balance after the Covid pandemic interrupted a series of annual visits to Colwyn Bay.
One home Championship match - against Leicestershire on Monday, 10 July - has no venue allocated.
The overall shape of the season for the counties remains similar after they rejected proposals to trim the schedule, from Sir Andrew Strauss’ review on behalf of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Six Championship matches, two One-Day Cup fixtures, and all Glamorgan’s home T20 schedule will be staged at Sophia Gardens.
Glamorgan’s first Championship match starts on Thursday, 6 April against Gloucestershire, after a three-day friendly against the students of Cardiff UCCE.
The return visit to the West Country side will be played as part of the Cheltenham Festival, starting on Thursday, 20 July.
Gloucestershire are also the opposition for Glamorgan’s opening game in the T20 Blast, with the group stage running between 26 May and 2 July.
The One-Day Cup warm-up will be away to Herefordshire rather than against the Wales National County side as in previous years.
Meanwhile, Western Storm will play the first 50 overs women’s match at Sophia Gardens as they face Manchester-based Thunder on Saturday, 29 April.
The schedule for Welsh Fire in the Hundred franchise tournament in August will be announced separately, with the event expected to be slightly shorter overall.
■ ENGLAND’S first Test in Pakistan for 17 years could be postponed by 24 hours after a number of the travelling players and staff were struck down by illness two days before the highly-anticipated match in Rawalpindi.
Approximately 13 to 14 members of the touring party are affected by the illness - which is believed to be a bug or a virus with around half of them being members of the playing squad.
England had tried to mitigate the risk of issues in Pakistan and made additional preparations including hiring their own chef for the tour for the first time, but a number of the squad were still struck down and remained at the hotel instead of taking part in the final optional training session yesterday morning.
Discussions have taken place between the relevant governing bodies - the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) - over the issue, with the Test, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday, starting a day late being considered as a worst-case scenario contingency plan.
However, a final decision over whether to postpone the match was not expected until this morning as the players continue to be monitored.