Glamorgan can secure promotion, says chief executive Morris

Glamorgan finished fourth in Division Two of the County Championship in 2015

Glamorgan chief executive Hugh Morris insists the county are capable of promotion to Division One of the County Championship despite only the top team going up.

Only one team will be promoted from Division Two this summer to reduce the number of top-tier teams in 2017.

A top division of eight teams will be introduced, down from nine, with 10 counties in the second.

"It makes things more difficult in the short term," Morris said.

"But we've got a slightly stronger squad this year, we've certainly got a slightly deeper squad, and we've got a very motivated squad.

"We've got the balance that can certainly challenge to go up.

"It's not going to be easy, it never is, it's going to be slightly more difficult this year.

"But we want to keep up the momentum we started with at the beginning of last year."

Glamorgan finished fourth in Division Two in 2015 after being second for part of the campaign.

Despite winning four matches in a row they failed to add to their victories in the latter part of the season.

New faces and big aims

Former England spin bowler Robert Croft has replaced Toby Radford as Glamorgan's head coach ahead of the new County season, which starts at home to Leicestershire on 17 April.

They have signed Netherlands fast bowler Timm van der Gugten and young Australian batsman Nick Selman, as well as converting all-rounder Craig Meschede's loan spell into a three-year contract.

Morris is confident Glamorgan can be part of any future city-based Twenty20 league, designed to copy the success of Australia's Big Bash.

The counties have voted to continue with a north-south split and an 18-team competition for the time being,

But Morris says the county will be part of continuing discussions with the ECB over the next 12 months.

The former England batsman hopes that Cardiff's SSE Swalec Stadium will host matches even if the number of teams competing is reduced.

"We're very fortunate we have got a great stadium," he said at the launch of a new BTEC Sport Studies qualification in conjunction with Fitzalan High School in Cardiff.

"Cardiff is one of the sporting capitals of the UK, we're using to holding major events and major teams here.

"Any potential changes that are going to happen, we feel we'll be able to respond to really positively."