words richard thomas pictures Steve pope
r
GlaMorGan’s daffodil had wilted so With the likes of gillespie, dalrymple and Wood on
alarmingly over recent years that there board the general perspective is glamorgan can and
were serious fears there would be no will be more competitive this summer. after all it
recovery, but green shoots of recovery could not be any worse than the last two forgettable
have been spotted at a rejuvenated years.
sophia Gardens.
for the last 36 months maynard had to watch
a new £10m ground, now known as the SWalec from afar as glamorgan racked up an incredible
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Stadium, a new cricket manager and some new signings 30 lv county championship defeats. there were
have given cause for some tempered optimism among competitive moments but far too often glamorgan
long suffering club members and supporters. were outgunned as their already fragile confidence
was stripped to the bone.
those fans have watched in some horror over the last
few seasons as glamorgan’s results have fallen away it has all be such a far cry from when maynard led
dramatically from the club’s most sustained period of the county to their third championship title in 1997
success during the 1990s and early 2000s. during five years as county captain.
it became so bad that glamorgan won only two after beginning his new cricket manager two days
matches in the whole of the 2007 season and became following the end of last season maynard knows he
compliant whipping boys. has a difficult brief in restoring some pride and self-
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belief back into the dressing room.
arguments raged that chairman paul russell had
concentrated whole-heartedly in turning Sophia ‘’We have to be realistic where we have been as a
gardens into a test arena to the complete detriment club over the last two years. it’s going to be a long
of the playing side. russell countered that it was all journey and it’s not going to happen overnight,’’ he
about short term pain for gain in the long run. admits.
the time has now come for that counter argument ‘’the only thing i can ask for is 100 per cent
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to be put to the test, especially as matthew maynard, commitment from my players. if you get that with
on the back of three years as england assistant the right attitude then performances will improve. i
coach under duncan fletcher, has been installed as have been pleasantly surprised at the skill levels to
cricket manager and was presented with a bigger be honest, because those skill levels haven’t been
playing budget which has realised such recruits reflected in results over the past two years.
as england one-day all-rounder Jamie dalrymple,
s
tadium
former yorkshire opener matthew Wood and former ‘’there’s a lot more to come out of these players
australia seamer Jason gillespie. yet. i’m not saying that these players are strong
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enough as yet to challenge for domestic silverware,
there has been some doubt over gillespie due to his but you never know if you get on a roll.
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involvement with the outlawed indian cricket league,
but a fortnight before the season the england and ‘’The best teams in the world are the fittest and
Wales cricket board gave glamorgan the green light strongest both mentally and physically, and that is
to play the australian. something we have looked to improve on 10 per
cent from last year.’’
ragons’
d
Glamorgan
SW
6 cricket
sportingwales
maytwothousand&eight
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