Lloyd hopes northern lights can lift the gloom
GLAMORGAN’S north Walian all-rounder David Lloyd is hoping for a return to better times up north when his side welcome Warwickshire for the annual County Championship fixture at the Colwyn Bay ground at Rhos-on-Sea, starting on August 29.
The county have lost six of their last seven matches in Division Two and will be looking to put behind them a week which has seen them crash out of the Vitality Blast and lose their young Welsh batsman Aneurin Donald to Hampshire
Ahead of the fixture, Lloyd said: “It’ll be nice to get back up north and play at home, and also see a few familiar faces.
“But first, we have to sort out our performances and there’s no better place to do it. Hopefully we’ll get some runs on the board and get our confidence back and see how it goes from there.”
Runs have indeed been in short supply during this season’s campaign, with the daffodil county having twice been dismissed for under 200 against Durham at Cardiff.
Prior to that, they suffered a humiliating defeat to Sussex under the lights at Hove, being dismissed for 88 and 85 in an innings defeat. Indeed they are without a win since the first match of the campaign against Gloucestershire at Bristol.
Last season, the Rhos-on-Sea ground produced a thriller between Glamorgan and Sussex, which the Welshmen narrowly lost by one wicket as Ollie Robinson, on his return from injury, claimed seven wickets before striking a match-winning 41 from 37 deliveries and won the game with a six.
Much like this season, Glamorgan’s side included an array of Welsh youngsters but crucially, they were supported by the experience of Craig Meschede, who struck 87 in the first innings and 41 in the second.
Lloyd added: “It’s normally a good deck. The boys did well last time, even though they lost by one wicket.
“It was a young team up there. They showed signs of good form and hopefully we can go up there and forget what’s happened the last few weeks, and try and enjoy our cricket.”
Whilst Glamorgan’s current crop are struggling for runs, Rhos-on-Sea produced a historic innings for Steve James in 2000 when, having been invited to bat, the opener struck an unbeaten 309, having built a firstwicket partnership of 374 with Matthew Elliott as Glamorgan amassed 718 for three against Sussex. James remains the only triple centurion in the county’s history.
This time around, Glamorgan face a Warwickshire side brimming with confidence as they push for promotion to Division One.
The Bears were victorious by four wickets when Glamorgan travelled to Edgbaston earlier in the season, after Ian Bell struck a century in each innings.
But Glamorgan’s performance in that match is a cause for optimism this time around, according to Lloyd. “We showed at their place that we can compete against a good side.
“Obviously we’ll be looking to do better than last time after losing. But we know how good they are and they’re pushing to get promoted, so we’ll want to stop that push.