Glamorgan seek T20 upturn under another new coach

Kiran Carlson hit Glamorgan's record T20 score of 135 in the final game of 2024, which also brought a record total and winning margin

Glamorgan will go into the T20 season under new management for the fourth time in four years as they face Middlesex away in their opener on Sunday, 1 June.

Head coach Richard Dawson, who reached the knockout stages four times in six years with Gloucestershire, follows Grant Bradburn, Mark Alleyne and Matthew Maynard in the role as Glamorgan look to progress out of their group for the first time since 2017.

"He brings wealth of experience and a great attitude, and we've got to use the depth of our squad, combinations of different batters and bowlers pushing for places," said captain Kiran Carlson.

"There's no doubt we've under-performed since 2017 in the T20 and with the squad we have, we're hoping we can find the right balance and this year's the year.

"We've got to get into the rhythm of it quickly, in the past we might have started a little bit slowly so we've got to start on the front foot against Middlesex."

Glamorgan go into the Blast on the back of three successive wins in the four-day county championship, but are likely to change around half the team.

South African batter Colin Ingram returns after resting while Sydney Sixers all-rounder Hayden Kerr is due to spend three months with the county as their other overseas player, after stints from Asitha Fernando, Marnus Labuschagne and Matt Kuhnemann.

"It's about the balance of the side, but also doing simple things well, being sharp with your fielding," said Dawson.

"There'll be some new faces (from the Championship), we've got youngsters performing in the second team who are putting their hands up for being around the group. We want people pushing each other like in the four-day stuff."

Kerr, a 28 year old left-arm seamer and middle to lower order batter, was recruited through Matthew Mott, the former Glamorgan and England coach now working with Sydney Sixers as well as having a consultant's role at Glamorgan.

"Matthew Mott saw what I offered to the side in the Big Bash, he mentioned there was a chance to come over, so I'm stoked to be a part of it," Kerr told BBC Sport Wales.

"Coming over as an overseas pro, you're expected to do the hardest jobs so whether that's bowling the first over and the sixth over, then 17th and 19th, that's probably my role though I'm flexible and I've been really working hard with the bat as well.

"It's a great competition, though it's hard to compare (with the Big Bash) with the conditions, and the grounds being 15 metres smaller all round. I'm going to have to come up with different ideas to defend short straight boundaries at Sophia Gardens."

Among the domestic players likely to be involved for Glamorgan in the T20 after missing out on the Championship are all-rounder Dan Douthwaite, leg-spinner Mason Crane, seamer Jamie McIlroy, and batter Will Smale, who all featured in the 2024 Blast, Douthwaite and Crane playing every game .

Douthwaite is raring to go after a couple of hard-hitting innings in the second team's T20 games, following a pectoral injury which brought a delayed start to the season followed by another setback.

Dan Douthwaite batting in a T20 Blast friendly between Glamorgan 2nd XI v Cardiff UCCE

"It's nice to be back bowling, it feels like a long time, and contributing with the bat as well. It was really frustrating to come back from a productive time in Australia, playing for Western Suburbs in Brisbane, and pick up a pec tear", said Douthwaite.

"I enjoyed being a bit more independent about my game, I've felt in the past I needed to be spoon-fed or told what to done, so it was cool and felt good for me as a cricketer.

"I'm as bad as anyone in hating watching, but being able to prep for the T20 has been the light at the end of the tunnel. It's the format where I feel I offer the most, so it's nice to be fit and firing."

Carlson has captained Glamorgan to two One Day Cup successes in four years, but can Glamorgan find the magic formula in the higher standards of T20?

"We found something towards the end of last year, we want to be attacking with the bat and take wickets with the ball, strangle teams in the middle and use different skills like Mason Crane," Carlson said.

"There's a few guys that haven't played much red-ball cricket so they'll be raring to go and they'll bring some real energy. They've been playing second-team T20 so they're used to the pace of play."

Glamorgan won a warm-up game against Wiltshire in Swindon on a super over thanks to Douthwaite's hitting, after the National Counties side forced a tie on 165 apiece in 20 overs.

Glamorgan begin the official competition on a Northwood ground which produced a dramatic high-scoring game in 2023, Chris Cooke smashing a record 38-ball 100, before hosting Surrey and Essex Eagles.

Both Wiltshire and Middlesex are double-headers with the recently-formed Glamorgan women's team, who are also starting a new competition after reaching the third round of the T20 Cup.