One-Day Cup: Unchanged Glamorgan bid for first final glory

Joe Cooke has shown his all-round talent in Glamorgan's march to the One-Day Cup final

Glamorgan will aim to make club history as they face Durham in Thursday's final of the One-Day Cup at Trent Bridge.

In nearly six decades of limited-overs cricket, the Welsh county have reached three finals and lost all three.

But the club will stick to the squad who got them to the final, rather than recall players who have finished their Hundred franchise commitments.

"It wouldn't be fair on these guys not to give them the opportunity," said coach David Harrison.

While Colin Ingram, Timm van der Gugten, Dan Douthwaite, and - at a push - David Lloyd could have been drafted back in, Glamorgan have opted for continuity after five wins from seven completed games in the 50-overs format.

"It's a massive occasion, the guys have been fantastic in the last few weeks and have really performed against good teams up and down the country," Harrison told BBC Sport Wales.

"Every player in that squad has performed. It was great to finish top of the group and it's great for the club and the Welsh public to get through to the final."

Durham also topped their group, before beating Surrey by five wickets in their semi-final the day after Glamorgan's win over Essex by the same margin.

Despite five players missing from the Glamorgan squad because of the Hundred they still have some experience, with New Zealand opener Hamish Rutherford hitting four half-centuries and veteran seamer Michael Hogan taking 15 wickets cheaply.

Joe Cooke has been the breakthrough player as an all-rounder after struggling as a Championship opener.

No Lord's finale

But many of the game's existing supporters have been critical of the way the 50-overs tournament has been downgraded compared to the highly-publicised Hundred - with a Thursday final at Trent Bridge rather than a Saturday final at Lord's.

"I don't think the guys would really care where we played, we're in a final and we're proud of that achievement," said Harrison.

"I was there (as an assistant coach) for the last Lord's final in 2013 which was a great occasion and hopefully we can go one step further now - we're happy to have a chance to win at Trent Bridge."

Although Glamorgan won the limited-overs leagues in 1993, 2002 and 2004 they have never succeeded in a one-day final, with three club stalwarts having to settle for runners-up medals at Lord's.

Alan Jones's outfit were beaten in the 1977 Gillette Cup final, Matthew Maynard's side lost the Benson and Hedges Cup final in 2000, while Mark Wallace's team finished runners-up in the YB40 Cup in 2013.

'Relaxed' approach

"It's brilliant to lead Glamorgan into a final, a very exciting opportunity for us and testament to the lads that have got us here, and nice that everyone's put in a performance," said captain Kiran Carlson, 23.

"We've loved it, with the Test matches and the Hundred it's always going to play second fiddle but we've really enjoyed it.

"There's been times when it hasn't gone our way but through the competition I've had a lot of help from various people and it helps to have an attack that's bowled really well, with guys scoring runs as well.

"We play our best cricket when we're relaxed and enjoying it as a team, so that's what we're going to go with."

Kiwi opener Rutherford, 32, agrees with the approach of his rookie captain.

"The key thing with big games is making sure you enjoy it, who knows when you might play a final again so you've got to make sure sure you enjoy every moment," he said.

"Despite the extra pressure, the extra noise you've just got to embrace it, have a smile on your face and have a bit of fun."

Glamorgan (from): Rutherford, Selman, Carlson (capt), Root, Reingold, Cullen (wk), J Cooke, Salter, Weighell, Carey, Hogan, Taylor, Gorvin.

• RUGBY LIONS OF '74: Undefeated, but against the backdrop of condemnation for the apartheid regime

• SOCIAL MEDIA & SPORT: Vicki Blight investigates the impact of social media in sport