Glamorgan feast on South African flavours

There have been times this season where the top five in Glamorgan's batting order have been South African born. The influx of South Africans began with the signing of Jacques Rudolph for the beginning of the 2014 season on a two year deal.

While there was a disappointing spell with Surrey in 2012 his record of over 5000 first class runs with Yorkshire at an average of 52 led you to believe that success in county cricket was well within him.

It was when the 2014 Royal London One Day Cup got underway that Rudolph came into his own. He finished as the tournament's leading run scorer, making three hundreds and three fifties in eight innings. Combined with a much better second half of the Championship and decent T20 returns that guided Glamorgan to a quarter final spot, it was a decent first year for Glamorgan's new overseas player.

At the back end of 2014 there was a rethinking in personnel for a couple of reasons. The first was financial; the club were in debt thanks to the cost of building the stadium that will once again host an Ashes Test this summer. The second was enforced when Jim Allenby, a vital cog with bat and ball for the county, asked to be released from his contract.

These changes paved the way for a change in leadership. Allenby was the T20 skipper and Mark Wallace the man at the helm in longer formats. During the winter the captaincy was given to Rudolph full time. So far it seems to have been the right call.

After an incredible win against Surrey at Guildford, Glamorgan are sitting third in both the Championship and T20 Blast tables with games in hand. They are as yet undefeated in first class cricket this year. That is in no small part due to Rudolph's runs and leadership. He is a likeable man and the team seem to have responded to his stewardship well.

Rudolph has a quiet intensity that is both unnerving and impressive. When you ask him a question there is always a pause while he contemplates the answer. His replies are invariably honest and forthright. His softly spoken voice isn't always easy to hear, it makes you listen all the harder to what he has to say. Maybe this is on purpose, although that seems unlikely.

When you have met Rudolph he takes the time to remember your name and use it when he next talks to you. He is an impressive man of undoubted talent.

The Glamorgan skipper has had a number of direct impacts on this squad, not least the increased representation of his South African counterparts. He was instrumental in tempting Colin Ingram to Wales as a "Kolpak" player. The fact that the county's second overseas player is South African international Wayne Parnell is too much of a coincidence to think that Rudolph wasn't deeply involved in his recruitment.

He too has been a vocal champion of Somerset loan signing Craig Meschede who has made his first two first class centuries since he became a Glamorgan player and has now moved up to open the batting in T20s and the bowling in the championship. His rise up the ranks has been phenomenal, his returns even more so. From a fringe player at Somerset he has become a lynchpin in Cardiff.

While the lofty heights of promotion to Division One of the County Championship is at least possible, it is a little bit daunting for those that follow Glamorgan. The squad is as small right now as it has been in years. The fact that Meschede is opening the bowling says as much about the paucity of those that could do the job as much as it says about the man filling it. Right now the only man in the squad who would be considered a new ball option in Division One would be Michael Hogan.

While Rudolph has put his international ambitions behind him having quit cricket in South Africa, he is still only 34. He can be the man around which a successful squad is built. The financial concerns that necessitated that reduction in squad size should be a thing of the past.

The City & County of Cardiff and Bank of Ireland have agreed to write off 70% of the outstanding debt that was incurred when the new stadium was built. With that under control there should be money available to increase the size and talent of the playing staff.

It is too early to get excited about top flight cricket returning to Wales for the first time since 2005. In fact there is a good chance that if some miracle Glamorgan keep up this form and get promoted it could be as bad as that season 10 years ago that saw Glamorgan win just one game and finishing last.

This side has really pulled together and as we approach the halfway stage of this season they are well in the running. The long suffering Glamorgan fans deserve some real success. Rudolph could be the man to deliver it.