T20 Blast: Glamorgan better, but more needed says coach Matthew Maynard
- Published
June's eight wicket win over Middlesex was one of five Glamorgan victories in this season's T20 Blast
Glamorgan coach Matthew Maynard says his team needs more consistency in the middle order if they are to challenge for T20 honours.
"We've performed better this year, but there's still improvement to go," he told 成人快手 Sport Wales.
Glamorgan's closing win over Kent left them sixth in the south group with five wins from 12 completed games.
It represents an improvement on 2021 but is the fourth year in a row with more losses than victories.
"It was a nice way to end it, but we're all disappointed we haven't managed to qualify. In one or two games we just didn't manage to get over the line and that's the game of T20 cricket.
"There are small margins, winning those key moments in games. We got in a good position against Surrey but didn't get over the line [losing off the penultimate ball]," reflected Maynard.
Experienced new signing Sam Northeast finished with 510 runs, the fourth highest Glamorgan tally in 20 years of the competition, while veteran Michael Hogan was the top wicket-taker with 20 in his final season before retiring.
"Sam Northeast had a superb competition, very consistent, Michael Hogan had a fantastic campaign, nice to see Prem Sisodiya come back into some form.
"Andrew Salter and Dan Douthwaite contributed at times, but it's about getting a bit more consistency from the middle order," said Maynard.
"I was pleased to see Billy Root, having to up his strike rate, he's come in and played a vital role against Kent. Just a little bit more consistency in the middle order and we could be challenging."
So are Glamorgan close to the formula for success, five years after reaching T20 Finals Day for only the second time since the short-format competition was founded in 2003?
"This year we tried to be more attacking in the [bowling] power-play, Hoges [Hogan] certainly did that alongside Michael Neser, those two were terrific. That's probably the right formula but we need more consistency with the batting, and when we've fielded well, those have been the games we've won," said the former England batsman and assistant coach.
"It's been an improvement in the campaign, but it's not where we and the club want to be."
Glamorgan start the defence of their One-Day Cup title against Kent on Thursday, 4 August and could again be strong contenders with no players currently due for Hundred franchise duties.
They return to four day Championship action on Monday, 11 July at home to Division Two leaders Nottinghamshire. Glamorgan are third.