Glamorgan aim to home in on T20 last eight

GLAMORGAN will be hoping they can finally make the most of home comforts when they bid to clinch a home tie in the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-finals against Middlesex tonight (7pm).

With four out of the six matches at the SSE SWALEC so far ruined by the weather, it is all the more remarkable that Robert Croft’s side have already qualified for the last eight. And now Croft is hoping they can clinch a home knockout tie for the second season in succession.

“With so many games washed out at home, I have been delighted with our performances on the road, and also how we dealt with the frustration after the heavy defeat against Hampshire last week,” said head coach Croft.

“We have a group of players who are ambitious and honest, and we all realised after that one run win against Somerset last Sunday, that we performed well for most of the game but at times we were below the standards we had set ourselves.

“When you look at the table and see how the odd point separates the other counties it really has been a marathon campaign in every sense.

“I am delighted we have qualified for the quarter-finals, but the only game on our mind this week is the one against Middlesex.

“They showed against Gloucestershire this week that they are a powerful side and as they can also qualify for the last eight, we are expecting a tough encounter.”

Glamorgan have retained the 14-man squad that triumphed at Taunton against Somerset, with opener Nick Selman striking a maiden T20Blast half-century.

And he is relishing the Middlesex encounter, saying: “It was great to spend a bit of time in the middle and get a good score and help towards setting a good target.

“But now we know tonight’s a big game for us and if we win we get a home quarter-final so the boys are eager to put a good performance in for what hopefully is a big crowd.” Glamorgan (from): Rudolph (c), Carey, Carlson, Cooke, Cullen, De Lange, Donald, Hogan, Ingram, Meschede, Salter, Selman, Smith, Wagg.