Glamorgan
Joining the club
Pricing may vary around the circuit but county membership offers the most economical route to watching plenty of cricket throughout the season
Peter Miller
12-May-2014
The county season is a month old and, with a new schedule designed to make it accessible to the public, there is the hope that more people than ever will make their way down to see some live domestic cricket. Perhaps more important than the time that the cricket is on is how much it costs. Tickets on the gate vary depending on county and competition. A ticket for a day at a Championship match costs somewhere in the region of £15. For Twenty20 games this can creep up to as much as £30.
The prices of seeing every game would be eye watering were you to buy them individually. At most counties it will cost you somewhere north of £400 to watch the seven T20s, four 50-over games and one day of each of the Championship matches. Clearly if you are going to watch that much cricket a membership is much more sensible.
For your membership, you would get to see 44 days of domestic cricket, if you had the time or the inclination to do so. There are people that do. The cost varies from county to county, with the cheapest being Northamptonshire at £145 and the most expensive at Sussex where you will pay £250. If you are a thrifty person, you may be inclined to work out when you would break even on your membership. With the average membership costing around £190, go to somewhere between 10 and 15 days of cricket and you have made your money back.
Full postSurreal win as Glamorgan walk the walk
They have said all the right things in recent seasons but against Surrey, Glamorgan actually found a performance to match
Peter Miller
10-Apr-2014
It was the opening round of the County Championship. The first fixture for Glamorgan was away to newly demoted Surrey. The London mega-club were always going to be strong favourites to bounce straight back into Division One. They have England internationals, England hopefuls and the full time services of South African Test legend, Graeme Smith.
Glamorgan have no players on anyone's international radar. The only time the selectors visit Cardiff is when they are interested in one of the visitors or because they are fond of the free Welsh Cakes. Glamorgan have ambitions to replicate the on and off field success that Surrey have had in the 21st Century. This is still a work in progress.
Before the start of this season all the talk from within the club was of how there had been a change in approach and in attitude at the SWALEC. They were working harder than ever and have never been as well prepared. The difficulty for a club supporter is that this is what you hear every year. The real litmus test comes when the cricket begins.
Full postA game lost, but not the love
The result at Lord's mattered for every Glamorgan fan, but it was also a fantastic day out and the fans never stopped singing...even to the end
Peter Miller
22-Sep-2013
So as sure as the sun will shine I'm gonna get my share now of what's mine. And then the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all
When soul singing legend Jimmy Cliff sung those immortal lyrics he was no doubt prophesying the 2013 YB40 final between underdogs Glamorgan and their would be oppressors Nottinghamshire. A Glamorgan side full of county pros against a star studded Nottinghamshire XI brim full of current England stars and an Australian that should be playing for his country in all formats.
Nottinghamshire had two of England's best bowlers, and some of its best one day batsmen. Glamorgan's close knit side of competent professionals all knowing their roles had a chance to strike a blow for the little guy. Everyone just needed to perform at their best. Well, that was the plan.
Full postSuccess precedes change in Cardiff
Qualification for the YB40 semi-finals means departing coach Matthew Mott will leave Glamorgan with his head held high
Peter Miller
03-Sep-2013
It has been an exciting couple of weeks to be a Glamorgan fan, with it all kicking off on and off the field. Perhaps "kicking off" is overstating things but it has certainly been eventful. On-field success, off-field machinations and the prospect of a semi-final for the first time in nearly a decade. While I have been saying that Glamorgan had a chance of making the knockout stages of the 40-over competition since early June I didn't really believe it until they beat Yorkshire to secure their spot. If I am honest, I still spent 20 minutes worrying about net run rates before I let myself get excited.
The interesting times started with the news that Glamorgan's coach, Matthew Mott, would be returning to Australia at the end of the season. After three years in charge he has decided to call it a day and, with the club doing better in the limited-over formats than many expected this year, he can return home with his head held high.
We also learned that Jim Allenby has committed himself to the club for a further four years. As he is the person that adds balance to the side this is great news - his 1789 runs and 35 wickets across all formats this season have made him the glue holding Glamorgan together. Having him commit to Glamorgan is fantastic news that will only be added to if Michael Hogan agrees to extend his deal with the county.
Full postForty overs just right...and we could win it
Next season one-day cricket will be over 50 overs, but that's a bit long for a family. The 40-over format allows just the right balance for everything
Peter Miller
18-Aug-2013
I love 40-over cricket. It is where my journey into cricket obsession began. My Dad took me along to Sunday League games as my first introduction to the game live. In the days before T20 it was where you would watch the glamour cricket, with big hitting and exciting finishes. While T20 is great, where it loses out for me against the (slightly) longer format is you don't see batsmen building innings or sides recovering from a collapse.
The reason it is better than 50-over cricket is that you can take youngsters along and they can watch a whole match without getting too restless. The extra 20 overs needed to complete a 50-over game are the difference between watching the whole game and having to take the kids home before the end.
Glamorgan's match between Middlesex was a family fun day. This meant that there was bungee running, a climbing wall, bouncy castle, face painting and cricket skills at the ground and included in the entry price. This would be great value as it is, but the club reduced the tickets to £2.50 for adults and free for kids. I went with my son, his best friend and his best friend's dad for a fiver. To make the day even better I wasn't the designated driver.
Full postGlamorgan make progress while standing still
There has been hope for supporters in Wales but the failure to qualify for the T20 quarter-finals was the latest frustration
Peter Miller
01-Aug-2013
In the County Championship Glamorgan fans have long complained of the tendency of their batsmen to get themselves to a quickfire 30 only to gift their wicket to the opposition. This same fatal flaw in the longer form of the game is in fact a great asset in the shortest and Glamorgan started the Friends Life t20 with some aplomb. They began with four wins on the bounce, followed by three defeats.
That decline was arrested with a final over win against Worcestershire which set up a top of the table clash versus Northamptonshire. Added to the significance of the fixture was the fact it was scheduled for a Friday night. Both of these factors combined to give Glamorgan an excellent crowd and the chance to set up a home quarter final. The only thing that was missing from the game was a home win, but you can't have everything.
This brought us to the final group game against Gloucestershire, a side that Glamorgan have always done well against in T20 and a team that were second bottom in the group. A win would mean Glamorgan made it through the group stages for the first time since 2008. That nasty word "hope" started to enter our minds. It was a certainty. Wasn't it?
Full postIn Jim Allenby we trust
He is so great at rear-guard actions he would have reversed the fortunes of Crassus, King Harold, General Custer and Admiral Yamamoto
Peter Miller
27-Jun-2013
Thanks to the Champions Trophy Glamorgan have been evicted from their Cardiff home and have embarked on a road trip that would make Jack Karouac proud. Rather than having Ginsberg and Burroughs for company Glamorgan have had follow-ons and second innings fight backs. It has been quite a journey.
More exciting than any of this was that Glamorgan went past 400 in their first innings, twice! There have now been five hundreds in the Championship, just two fewer than the whole of last season. Glamorgan fans were calling for more first innings runs and the players have delivered. Not least Jim Allenby, who is the county's leading run scoring and averaging 75.80 in the County Championship. Such is the reliability of Jim Allenby you have to wonder if at some point Glamorgan will ask to begin their innings at 75 for 4 and open with him. Allenby is so great at rear-guard actions he would have reversed the fortunes of Crassus, King Harold, General Custer and Admiral Yamamoto.
In the games against Leicestershire and Kent the first innings lead was enough to enforce the follow-on. Heady heights indeed. Unfortunately in both cases the bowlers could not reproduce that cutting edge in the second dig. Against Leicestershire, fourth day rain saw them escape after a decent effort from their top four prevented a total capitulation. Against Kent runs from Rob Key and Darren Stevens in the second innings meant forcing a victory became increasingly unlikely. While draws are disappointing from such a strong position it is difficult to criticise the side for getting to such positions in the first place.
Full postA little less rain and a few more runs, please
Although Mark Wallace made Glamorgan's first hundred of the season, the last week has tested the fans' optimism
Peter Miller
21-May-2013
Undertaking a 90-mile round trip in the almost certain knowledge that the game of cricket you are planning to watch will be abandoned pushes the envelope of logical behaviour. Nonetheless this is what I did for the Glamorgan verses Unicorns games.
I am by nature an optimist, often despite overwhelming evidence that this optimism is misplaced. As I drove down the motorway in near torrential rain straining to see the road due to my poorly functioning windscreen wipers I said to myself, "once I get closer to Cardiff it will brighten up." Despite the rain continuing to fall in almost biblical proportions I still convinced myself that it looked brighter in the nation's capital.
Once in the ground even my relentless sunny attitude began to fade as I saw the puddles on the covers on the outfield that would have made an ideal hunting ground for wading sea birds. I still sat in the ground until the game was called off, about two and half hours later than everyone apart from the umpires had concluded there would be no cricket that day. To lose the Unicorns fixture to the weather was a bitter blow as a big win against the "best of the rest" side would have done Glamorgan's net run-rate the world of good.
Full postHope is a waking dream for Glamorgan
Despite a brief nightmare on one afternoon at Colwyn Bay, Glamorgan have gone from strength to strength and it has been a great start to the season
Peter Miller
08-May-2013
For ten years I had a reclining armchair in my living room. It was a faithful servant that saw me through many hours of reading and television watching. One day my son jumped on it and it fell apart in a mangled lump. The feeling I had looking at that wonderfully comfy piece of furniture was exactly the same as the one I had when I looked at the scorecard of Glamorgan's second innings against Lancashire. Something that I was certain of had fallen apart in front of my eyes.
As Aristotle said "hope is a waking dream". Unfortunately it became a nightmare on a Friday afternoon in North Wales. The reason for the despair that this loss caused is that Glamorgan had been amazing for the whole of the game against Worcestershire and in all but the last session against Lancashire. An undefeated Glamorgan with two wins after three games was a realistic possibility and the team deserved it. Then they lost eight wickets for 45 runs.
Despite the disappointment of that final session in Colwyn Bay this has been a great start to the season for Glamorgan. In the match against Worcestershire the Glamorgan bowlers took hold of the match and didn't let go. Michael Hogan is a very astute signing, his pace and seam movement is causing real problems for all the batsmen he has faced. Jim Allenby is doing what Jim Allenby does. He isn't quick, but he takes wickets with the regularity of a prune juice drinker.
Full postA familiar foreboding
It is too early to worry too much after one poor batting display, but the signs were not promising from Glamorgan's top order
Peter Miller
16-Apr-2013
If the IPL is a glitzy nightclub, the County Championship is Sunday lunch in the pub, albeit in a freezing beer garden huddled under a gas heater that isn't working. Despite the temperatures that Cardiff in April provides it is exciting to have county cricket back. With woolly hat, scarf and overcoat on sitting outside for seven hours is almost bearable.
The relentless positivity that is so common from all professional sports teams poured forth from Glamorgan. They are as well prepared as they have ever been and raring to go. Despite this preparation it didn't stop Glamorgan collapsing like Lindsay Lohan getting out a late night taxi on the first day of the championship campaign. A young Glamorgan batsman playing a daft shot to get himself out when well set is fast becoming a bigger sporting cliché than football being a game of two halves.
Last year the failure of the top order to perform consistently ended Glamorgan's promotion campaign by the middle of May. If this pattern is repeated this year the floodlights at the SWALEC will be powered by the righteous indignation glowing off the members.
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