Glamorgan Cricket: Debut for teenage keeper Alex Horton
- Published
Alex Horton was part of the England side that lost by four wickets to India in the final of the 2022 ICC Under-19 World Cup
Vitality T20 Blast, South Group: Gloucestershire v Glamorgan |
Venue: County Ground, Bristol Date: Saturday 18 June Time: 18:30 BST |
Coverage: Commentaries from BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Sport Wales on BBC sport website and app; match report on BBC Sport website. |
Glamorgan are set to give England Under-19 wicket-keeper Alex Horton his debut in their T20 match away to Gloucestershire.
Horton, 18, steps in because of a calf injury to regular gloveman Chris Cooke.
He is selected ahead of second XI captain Tom Cullen, who was Cooke's substitute in the Championship win over Sussex.
Batter Tom Bevan is also included in the squad for the first time.
St Fagans club player Bevan, 22, is called up after hitting an unbeaten 132 for the seconds against Middlesex in their T20 semi-final, as well as a century in their four-day win against Somerset.
Horton is in the third season of a five year contract with Glamorgan, which he was awarded at 16 with the club seeing him as a major prospect.
He played for Newbridge aged just 13, and has been completing his A-levels in Oxford.
Glamorgan are again struggling in the short format, with just two wins from seven completed Blast games.
But coach Matthew Maynard says the squad selection is still about competing for a quarter-final place rather than experimenting for the future
"We've had a lot of close games but we just haven't got over the line, so it's about [batters] taking it deep into the innings, and showing a bit more composure with the bat at times.
"We get going in a partnership for 20 or 25 then someone gets out and you have to rebuild again, we need a couple of 80 partnerships though an innings, or an 80 and a 50, and if we do that, those results will come.
"We probably need to win five [from six] to guarantee [a quarter-final place] but we're going to go for it."
Veteran seamer Michael Hogan is named in the squad subject to testing negative for Covid-19, after being forced to pull out of the Championship match over Sussex after just one day, while James Harris misses out.
Gloucestershire, who won in Cardiff by five wickets earlier in the Blast, have Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir back in their ranks but are missing David Payne on England duty in the Netherlands.
Gloucestershire (from, probable): Hammond, Bracey (wk), Dent, Cockbain, Phillips, Scott, Higgins, J Taylor (c), Howell, Smith, Chappell, Shaw, Amir, M Taylor.
Glamorgan (from): Lloyd (c), Northeast, Ingram, Carlson, Byrom, Douthwaite, Horton (wk), Neser, Salter, Sisodiya, Hogan, Weighell, Bevan, McIlroy.