The same setting with the same characters and the same plot

[cde]

County Championship
Durham v Glamorgan

Durham
M. Jones, D. Bedingham, S. Borthwick, B. Stokes, H. Nicholls, P. Coughlin, B. Carse, J. Bushnell, T. Mackintosh, B. Raine, C. Rushworth

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, N. Madden, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, B. Root, C. Cooke, K. Carlson, M. Nesser, M. Hogan, T, van der Gugten, P. Sisodiya



Durham 360 & 238-4 dec
Glamorgan 280 & 321-6

Match won by 4 wickets



Sisodiya returns after Salter’s performance, Neser’s form is falling so van der Gugten will open the bowling with Hogan.

I lose the toss and they ask me to bowl on a fairly benign pitch, one bar of both.

I start off on three bars outside off and van der Gugten pays back on his chance to open by taking four wickets and they teeter on 88-4. Unfortunately no other bowler is generating chances, allowing Borthwick and Coughlin to drag them back into the match with a 183 run partnership. van der Gugten keeps taking wickets but with so little threat from any other bowler they work their way up to a good total. van der Gugten finishes with 7-123.

The openers both fall cheaply, Ingram and Northeast batsmen build slowly but batsmen keep failing once they are over two bars aggression so I back off and fight my way to 280, a good way behind.

After their showing in the first innings and with the pitch still on two bars for seam and spin I opt to contain their batsmen rather than attack. The aim is to slow down their scoring, to have a total to chase down over more than two sessions at a rate lower than 4.5. I use my OD tactics, two bars outside off with a defensive field. I tie down the openers before Stokes and Borthwick have a go and pile on some runs. They fall for the bait, setting a stiff total but on a reasonably decent pitch for day four (three bars both) at a run rate of 4.21 and with good weather forecast.

I treat it like I am chasing a low OD total (the equivalent would be about 210), starting all the batsmen on four bars aggression and not moving from there. Madden falls for just 10, Ingram starts whacking it about and when Lloyd falls I promote in-form Cooke to 4 and they start motoring. Ingram falls for 44 off 70 but it is Cooke’s 127 off 169 and Root’s 74 off 95 that take us to four overs remaining and 19 runs required. Neser and Root whack off the runs with seven balls remaining for an excellent win.

The run chase went pretty much to plan but it can’t mask the poor bowling or the first innings batting. This may be a good time to break for the T20s.

[cde]

And so into the T20s. Not completely because for some reason there are some FC matches scattered throughout the tournament, it would have been good to have just played them all in one go. Six FC matches, all the T20s, four FC matches, the OD matches, four FC to finish off. There. Not so hard is it.

I don’t think I have the players for this. Of all the formats T20 is by far the most formulaic, you need batsmen and bowlers with high averages and strike rates and as many all-rounders to fill those bowling positions as possible. There is no place for slow starters, uneconomical bowlers or wicketkeepers who wouldn’t play for their batting alone. You might not have all of those things but you can only have one weak link. I have mostly weak links in the batting line-up.

My genuinely decent T20 players consist of Lloyd, Ingram, Labuschagne, Northeast, Cooke, Hogan, van der Gugten. Neser is a so-so bowler in T20s. So my initial line up would be:

D. Lloyd (4^thseamer)
-
C. Ingram (2^nd spin)
S. Northeast
C. Cooke (WK)
-
-
M. Neser (3^rd seamer)
T. van der Gugten (2^nd seamer)
M. Hogan (1^st seamer)
-

Easy decisions first. I need a spinner to complete the bowling line-up and while he has little experience Callum Taylor’s average of 19.90 is decent enough and while his economy is high at 8.94 it means his strike rate is right up there. The other opener is hardly a difficult choice either, Madden has been doing ok in FC cricket and is the only other aggressive opener, so he starts.

This leaves two spaces for batsmen. It’s between Carlson, Root and Douthwaite. Carlson has also been motoring in FC games while root has the experience so they slot in.

I would like to see Douthwaite and McIlroy pressing for places since they both offer some promise.

I will be using my standard tactics. I like to bowl first, two bars outside off to 7-2 field. I might go around the wicket but I don’t deviate from this and it has served me well for years. Batting is a different prospect but I like to start off on 6 with the openers until they face 6 balls then move both up to 7. All new batsmen start at 7 and once they are half-way settled move up to 8, 9 when fully set. All-out just means out so I ignore that.

Winning is going to be a struggle. On average I should be able to post 156, a competitive total, but that is very much dependent on Madden having a good debut season. If he struggles then 150 is going to be an issue. With that bowling attack I expect to ship 166 runs. Those averages could miss the mark but if my batting average is 6% less than the runs scored against me I will be pretty much spot on.

Hey-ho then, off we go.

[cde]

20 Over Trophy
Sussex v Glamorgan

Sussex
M. Rizwan, J. Phillipe, T. Haines, T. Alsop, L. Wright, D. Rawlins, F. Hudson-Prentice, G. Garton, O. Robinson, W. Beer, J. Carson

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, N. Madden, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, K. Carlson, B. Root, M. Nesser, T. van der Gugten, C. Taylor, M. Hogan



Glamorgan 153-7
Sussex 103

Match won by 50 points



Flat for seam, one spin so decide to bat first.

Not a great start by Lloyd and Madden but the rest of the batsmen do ok to almost hit what I think we should be.

I stick to by bowling plan, which is very formulaic and goes a little something like this in English conditions:

Bowler 1 (Fast, good S/R) Bowler 2 (MF/FM Balanced between S/R and economy)
Bowler 1 Bowler 2
Bowler 3 (MF/FM, Good S/R) Bowler 2
Bowler 3 Bowler 2
Bowler 3 Bowler 4 (FM/M, good economy)
Bowler 3 Bowler 4
Bowler 5 (Spin) Bowler 4
Bowler 5 Bowler 4
Bowler 5 Bowler 1
Bowler 5 Bowler 1

Hogan and van der Gugten open the bowling and strike in the third and fourth overs, which stopping them from getting going. Neser takes another nut it is their slow run-rate that is killing them. I bring Taylor into the attack in the 13^th over as planned and he immediately takes two, Lloyd backing him up next over. They are wildly adrift on the run-rate and when Hogn returns he finishes them off with a hat-trick.

Great start!

[cde]

20 Over Trophy
Surrey v Glamorgan

Surrey
J. Roy, H. Amla, C. de Grandhomme, O. Pope, B. Foakes, N. Reifer, L. Evans, S. Curran, T. Curran, R. Topley, D. Moriaty

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, N. Madden, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, K. Carlson, B. Root, M. Nesser, T. van der Gugten, C. Taylor, M. Hogan



Glamorgan 144-5
Surrey 150-1

Match lost by 9 wickets



Uh oh. A strong team and we’ll be lucky not to get smashed about. Asked to bat first the pitch is one bar seam, no spin.

I make a slow start then lose two quick wickets and despite Northeast hitting 65 off 48 we just can’t get the ball away and can reach only 144, a too low total by far.

Roy and Amla smack me about for a few overs but I just can’t get at Amla or de Grandhomme, using every bowler I can to no avail.

A shame after the strong start but hardly surprising.

[cde]

20 Over Trophy
Middlesex v Glamorgan

Middlesex
P. Malan, S. Eskinazi, J. Cracknell, E. Morgan, M. Stoneman, M. Holden, L. Hollman, T. Rolland-Jones, N. Sowter, S. Afridi, T. Murtagh

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, N. Madden, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, K. Carlson, B. Root, C. Taylor, T. van der Gugten, M. Hogan. J. McIlroy



Middlesex 152-8
Glamorgan 148-8

Match lost by 4 runs



Neser’s form has hit 0% so he can play in the seconds until it recovers, McIlroy is given a chance. One bar seam, no spin and I put them in to bat.

Malan and Eskinazi make a strong start but van der Gugten takes Malan and the new batsman in one over to check their progress. Morgan adds impetus for them but Taylor takes a couple more wickets to hold them to 152, what should be a par score but I suspect we won’t quite make it with this batting line up.

I build ok partnerships but batsmen struggle to keep up the run-rate despite me pushing them up to 8 to start with.

I almost get there but not quite. This is where I thought I would be.

[cde]

20 Over Trophy
Glamorgan v Essex

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, N. Madden, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, K. Carlson, B. Root, C. Taylor, T. van der Gugten, M. Hogan. J. McIlroy

Essex
T. Westley, A. Rossington, D. Lawrence, F. Kushi, M. Critchley, J. Rymell, P. Walter, S. Harmer, S. Snater, M Steketee, S. Cook



Essex 143-5
Glamorgan 144-9

Match won by 1 wicket



One bar seam, no spin they choose to bat first.

I get Rossington quickly and utterly tie down Westley but Lawrence is their man, 78 off 46 with some biffing off Critchley at the end. I fancy this target but still think it will be close.

Couldn’t be closer in fact! I get some ok partnerships going but lose wickets just as I try to kick on. I lose some cheap wickets in the tail and I am left with Carlson on strike with 11 needed from the last over and a win looking unlikely but he and McIlroy steal a couple of singles then he smacks two balls to the boundary to leave one run needed off one ball. He mis-hits it but it’s enough for a tight tight win.

[cde]

20 Over Trophy
Somerset v Glamorgan

Somerset
W. Smeed, S. Davies, R. Rossouw, G. Bartlett, T. Abell, J. Hildreth, L. Gregory, L. Goldsworthy, B. Green, S. Khan, N. Leonard

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, N. Madden, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, K. Carlson, B. Root, C. Taylor, T. van der Gugten, M. Hogan. J. McIlroy



Glamorgan 58
Essex 60-3

Match lost by 7 wickets



Put in to bat, one bar seam, one spin.

Wow. That was bad. Gregory and Green treat my top order like the gherkin in a burger, tossing them aside with barely a look or, for that matter, runs and I am whimpering on 3-2. I couldn’t stop the wickets falling, even on four bars players get out.

I try but there isn’t much hope. McIlroy taking two but to no avail.

[cde]

20 Over Trophy
Glamorgan v Surrey

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, N. Madden, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, K. Carlson, B. Root, C. Taylor, T. van der Gugten, M. Hogan. J. McIlroy

Surrey
J. Roy, H. Amla, L. Evans, B. Foakes, R. Burns, N. Reifer, W. Jacks, S. Curran, T. Curran, R. Topley, D. Moriaty



Surrey - 96
Galmorgan 99-4

Match won by 6 wickets



Best try to put that behind me. One bar seam, no spin, I put them in to bat hoping that the loss of de Grandhomme and Pope benefits helps me out

Comeback! I get the vital wicket of Roy for just 12 and back it up with Evans falling for 4. Foakes also goes cheaply and while Amla tries to rally his side I munch through the rest of them, van der Gugten and McIlroy taking two each, Lloyd and Taylor three each.

With little pressure we chase the runs down easily

I thought that heavy defeat to Somerset could have sparked a chain reaction but we’re right back in it.

[cde]

20 Over Trophy
Glamorgan v Gloucestershire

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, N. Madden, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, K. Carlson, B. Root, T. van der Gugten, M. Hogan. J. McIlroy, S. Pearce

Gloucestershire
M. Harris, J. Bracey, I. Cockbain, C. Dent, B. Howell, J. Taylor, T. Smith, R. Higgins, D. Payne, P. van Meekeren, N. Shah



Gloucestershire 139-9
Glamorgan 139-7

Match tied



Taylor pulled his hamstring in the last match and is out for five weeks, missing the rest of the T20s. This is a massive blow, he has so far taken 9 wickets at an average of 11.89 and economy of 6.48. The other spin options are poor though Pearce has been taking wickets at 20.44 each so I’ll give him a shot. As well as weakening the bowling attack it also lengthens the tail. One bar of each, I put them in to bat.

Hogan, van der Gugten and McIlroy take wickets and keep the run-rate down but they get into Lloyd and smash Pearce out of the attack , 29 from two overs. I use Ingram but they are tied to a nice low total.

Northeast hits a run-a-ball 51 but Tom Smith is impossible to get away, he takes just the one wicket but even shifting up to nine bars my batsmen can only get 4.5 an over out of him. We get to the last over with seven needed, Northeast and Root in, and I fancy the win. Root facing he takes a swipe and missed, then a quick single gets the settled Northeast facing. He misses one. He holes out to mid-off. Seven off two balls, van der Gugten facing. He smashes a 6! Almost there but he clips one to mid-off and it ends a tie.

[cde]

20 Over Trophy
Glamorgan v Hampshire

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, E. Byrom, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, D. Douthwaite, B. Root, T. van der Gugten, M. Hogan. J. McIlroy, S. Pearce

Hampshire
B. McDermott, J. Vince, H. Finch, N. Gubbins, B. Brown, R. Whiteley, I. Holland, L. Dawson, N. Ellis, J. Turner, B. Wheal



Hampshire 144-6 (17 overs)
Glamorgan 122 (14.2 overs)

Match lost by 23 runs (DLS)



Madden and Carlson are struggling badly so while I expect very little from him I give Byrom a try since he can’t do much worse than Madden while the fit-again Douthwaite comes in for Carlson. I give Pearce another chance. One bar of each, rain coming in but starting dry, I’m asked to bowl.

The weather is going to be the deciding factor, if they can get runs on the board before it clouds over and then rains it’s going to be an uphill struggle. They get a decent start, the clouds come in and I take some wickets before the first rain break. They come back out swinging and post a good total in the conditions.

Rain delays my run chase but when it starts Wheal takes a wicket in the opening over then two in his second and I never get into it and slide to defeat.

[cde]

We stop for a quick FC match and since the group phase is just over half way it’s good to have a look at where I am, which is 5^th in the table, two points behind Sussex in 4^th, I’ve lost four, won three and tied one. I don’t think it’s too bad given the lack of resources and having lost a key bowler.

None of the batsmen are thriving, Northeast has produced the only 50s so far and in between these he is averaging just 15.8.

The front-line bowlers are doing well. Hogan is continuing his fantastic form, van der Gugten is just exceeding his averages, McIlroy and Taylor have taken their opportunity with both hands but Lloyd is the weak link. I would like to bring in another bowler but I lack the all-rounders to do so.

I don’t think I’ll reach the knock-out stages but a few of these close matches could go my way and I might just sneak it.

[cde]

County Championship
Glamorgan v Sussex

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, E. Byrom, N. Madden, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, B. Root, J. Harris, M. Hogan, T, van der Gugten, J. McIlroy

Sussex
T. Haines, R. Agnew, C. Pujara, A. Orr, T. Alsop, M. Rizwan, L. Banks, F. Hudson-Prentice, G. Garton, J. Carson, S. Finn



Sussex 144 & 313
Glamorgan 498-6 dec

Match won by an innings and 41 runs



Neser and Sisodiya are in awful form and the pitch is showing one bar seam and no spin so I go for an all-seam attack with Lloyd and Ingram to provide help when needed. Harris’ batting average is about the same as Neser anyway even if his bowling isn’t. They win the toss and bat first.

I find on these flatish pitches it pays to use three bars outside off from the start, stopping batsmen getting some quick runs and on top of the bowlers early on. I also find that in these mid-T20 matches batmen seem to want to treat it like a smash-fest and will chase unnecessary shots. Maybe just me but it does keep happening. Which it does this time, Hogan taking 6-30 and van der Gugten 4-44.

With the pressure off, masses of time left and batsmen in poor form I keep them all on two bars throughout. I find that getting a struggling batsman to grind out runs can be the turning point in their form and I will use it whenever a batsman is below 40%. Cooke hits an unbeaten 100, Lloyd and Northeast fall in the 90s, Madden and Ingram half centuries as we build a big lead.

With such a lead it can be hard to stop the opposition from just trying to block it out and with such a limited bowling attack it could prove difficult on a pitch that is still on two bars seam, one spin. I go at a new batsman of four bars, drop to three once they reach 15-20 and then stay there, no aggressive enough to let them really get in but enough to threaten the wickets. We get Haines quickly, then they put on 63 for the second wicket then a couple of small partnerships, van der Gugten providing the wickets. Orr and Rizwan put on 130 in a stubborn partnership as I rotate bowlers and use Lloyd and Ingram to bring variation. Eventually McIlroy breaks the partnership and we scoot through the lower order for a comfortable win.

I strong performance and hopefully the good scores from the batsmen will boost their form in the T20s.

[cde]

20 Over Trophy
Glamorgan v Gloucestershire

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, E. Byrom, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, D. Douthwaite, B. Root, S. Pearce, M. Hogan. J. McIlroy, A Gorvin

Gloucestershire
G. Phillips, J. Bracey, I. Cockbain, G. van der Buuren, C. Dent, J. Taylor, G. Scott, T. Smith, R. Higgins, P. van Meekeren, N. Shah



Glamorgan 144
Gloucestershire 145-7

Match lost by 3 wickets



I take a hit as van der Gugten is called up for internationals. Gorvin is the only bowler who has been doing even vaguely well in the 2^nd XI so I turn to him in desperation.

One bar seam, one spin, asked to bat.

The top four put on all of 19 runs but a 50 from Douthwaite gets us to a total that is too low but at least defendable.
Hogan and McIlroy take a couple of wickets in the first four overs but McIlroy is going for quite a lot of runs. I steadily take wickets and it looks like I am getting on top but Tom Smith hits an unbeaten 40 off 28 to see them home with an over to spare.

A poor performance really. Pearce is no better than expected but the loss of van der Gugten hurts, McIlroy has been doing well at first change but I find that some bowlers struggle more in different positions, economical middle-over bowlers fail as openers and openers who take hat-fulls of wickets can fail in the middle overs.

[cde]

20 Over Trophy
Glamorgan v Sussex

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, E. Byrom, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, D. Douthwaite, B. Root, S. Pearce, M. Hogan. J. McIlroy, A Gorvin

Sussex
M. Rizwan, T. Haines, T. Alsop, L. Write, A. Orr, D. Rawlins, F. Hudson-Prentice, O. Robinson, R. Khan, W. Beer, J. Carson



Sussex 105
Glamorgan 106-2

Match won by 8 wickets



I fancy beating this lot. Their batsmen’s form must have taken a kicking after that FC match. Two bars seam, one spin, I put them in to bat with confidence.

That is well-founded. McIlroy takes another couple of wickets opening the bowling but again goes for a load of runs too. Gorvin is first change and gets smashed so rather than bring Pearce in early I hook Gorvin after two overs and bring in Douthwaite who bowls four overs for 9 runs and two wickets. I suddenly realise that I’ve been playing a possible all-rounder for a few matches while struggling with bowling options without actually using them.

Lloyd and Byrom are predictably useless but Ingram and Northeast knock the runs off for an easy win.

I am still in 5^th place but, level on points with Sussex but 0.01 behind on Net RR.

[cde]

20 Over Trophy
Glamorgan v Middlesex

Middlesex
P. Malan, S. Eskinazi, N. Priestley, E. Morgan, M. Stoneman, L. Hollman, R. White, T. Rolland-Jones, N. Sowter, S. Afridi, T. Murtagh

Glamorgan
D. Lloyd, J. Cooke, N. Madden, C. Ingram, S. Northeast, C. Cooke, D. Douthwaite, C. Taylor, B. Root, S. Pearce, M. Hogan. J. McIlroy



Middlesex 174-6
Glamorgan 162-3

Match lost by 7 wickets (DLS)



Byrom is out so Madden has to come in. I decide to use Douthwaite instead of Gorvin who is just getting creamed but just in case I bring Cooke into the side. He doesn’t look like much of a T20 prospect with bat or ball but it’s worth a shot. A flat pitch they choose to bat first.

Hogan and Lloyd give some control over the run-rate but everyone else – Douthwaite, Cooke and Pearce just get beaten about the park.

The only way we get near this is going hard from the start, eight bars all the way. We make a start but then lose overs to rain. In some way this can be easier to chase since you have less overs with the same batsmen. I go nine bars at them, 30s from Cooke and Douthwaite supporting a match-winning 68 from Ingram.