Glamorgan Cricket: Great to be in promotion hunt, says Matthew Maynard
- Published
Sam Northeast's record-breaking innings at Leicestershire came on the back of a century against Nottinghamshire at Sophia Gardens
Glamorgan coach Matthew Maynard says the club are where they want to be in the hunt for promotion in the Championship with four games to play.
Glamorgan moved into second in Division Two after winning a dramatic match by an innings Leicestershire, led by Sam Northeast's record 410 not out.
The Welsh county are eight points ahead of Middlesex and 15 behind leaders Nottinghamshire.
"We're in the hunt and that's a great place to be," said Maynard.
With the top two sides to go up, Glamorgan's match against Middlesex at Lord's, being played on 12-15 September, could be vital in determining promotion - or a place in the second tier if a review of the county structure opts for three divisions of six.
"It's going to go down to the wire, there's some good teams around us, but in this [fixture] block we've three very good wins and had Notts on the ropes," said wicket-keeper/batter Chris Cooke, whose unbeaten 191 contributed to Glamorgan's biggest ever partnership of 461 at Leicester.
"We're going in the right direction, so we'll stick to that and see where it gets us."
Overseas needed
Maynard warns that much could depend on the recruitment of a second overseas player, with batter Colin Ingram and fast bowler Michael Neser unavailable for the closing stages of the season.
New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel has been signed to fill one of the slots, although he is not a like-for-like replacement.
"We've signed a high-quality left-arm spinner and we're looking forward to having Ajaz with us, but we're losing two high-quality overseas players and we need to get another," said Maynard.
"There's limited availability because the international programme is very busy. You have to see who's out there.
"We have got a priority list and [director of cricket] Mark Wallace has been working very hard on this. Hopefully there'll be news mid-August."
Northeast for England?
Northeast's astounding innings, the ninth highest of all time in first-class cricket anywhere, has taken him to 1127 runs in 10 matches at an average of 75.
His figures are marginally better than the 2019 record of Marnus Labuschagne, which propelled the Australian to stardom in the Ashes.
But is it too late for the 32-year-old former Kent and Hampshire stalwart, who is widely regarded as one of the best players not to have won England honours?
"Not yet," said Maynard. "Those things are out of his control, but to have that [record] achievement is amazing.
"He's scored two centuries in consecutive games. If that had been four centuries he might be going on the winter tour and he's still got an opportunity to do that in September."
Northeast played a straight bat to a question on any lingering England hopes from BBC Sport Wales, with a wry smile.
"I don't know. I just want to perform for Glamorgan, keep up the good run of form and finish the season strongly, hopefully contribute to some success for the team and that's the most important thing going forward," he said, before racking up more motorway miles in returning to his partner and young child at their home in Kent.
"I'm definitely sleeping well away from home, it was a good kip after some runs (batting all the third day at Leicester), but it's nice to get home to see them.
"It's not easy at times [with the travelling], but weeks like this make it a lot easier."
Glamorgan face the Wales National County side on Sunday 31 July as preparation for the defence of their One-Day Cup title, which starts at Derby two days later.
Their September Championship fixtures see them host Worcestershire and Derbyshire, with an away game to finish against Sussex in addition to the Lord's date.