Alleyne Upbeat Ahead of Glamorgan Twenty20 Opener

Glamorgan kick-off their campaign against Gloucestershire at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol (6.30pm) looking to improve on a disappointing 2022 which saw elimination at the group phase after just five wins from 14 matches.

Former Gloucester captain Alleyne is the new man in charge of the shorter form of cricket this season with the Welsh county deciding to split their coaching red and white ball duties. 

After a fine start in the first-class red ball game under Matthew Maynard which has seen Glamorgan unbeaten in six LV Insurance County Championship rounds, 54-year-old Alleyne is looking to carry on the momentum against the county he spent two decades of his career at.

A surprise victory in the Covid-affected season of 2021 saw Glamorgan crowned 50 over Royal London Cup champions under stand-in coach David Harrison. However, the shortest format of the game has been underwhelming for the county in recent seasons with five successive failures to qualify from the group stage in the T20. A last-four exit at the hands of Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston in 2017 being the last occasion the county has reached the latter stages of the competition.

There is though renewed optimism around the county this season with the Welsh counties squad containing several star names. The Australian duo of Marnus Labuschagne, the World’s number one ranked batsman and fellow countryman and all-rounder Michael Neser will be the pick for many, whilst explosive batsman Colin Ingram returns to Wales for more explosive hitting.

Whilst last year’s top-scoring batsman Sam Northeast will be looking to replicate his tally of 508 runs in 12 innings to support the South African.

With a buzz around the club, Alleyne is purely focused on his first game as the county’s limited-overs coach and is keen to hit the ground running with a win in the expected early evening sunshine.

“I really want to create an environment where guys can really express themselves because they are good enough to be in the top four at the end of the season,” said Alleyne.

“It’s my job to create the stimulus within the group. The only short bit [in the build-up] is the physical preparation in terms of T20 skillsets, but we’ve got a group of players that have been playing since the end of February in pre-season, so there are no excuses. Although it’s a short time, I think we’re ready to go.”

There will also be a change in the captaincy department with Alleyne dealt the blow of losing captain David Lloyd for at least half of the campaign with a hamstring injury. 

Having shown imperious form in the red ball game, the leadership duties will be in the safe hands of batsman Kiran Carlson. Fresh from his mammoth career-best 192 in the weekend draw against Sussex, the 25-year-old will be looking to add to what is already a strong start to the campaign that has seen three centuries in six matches.

“David Lloyd and Tom Bevan both have quite serious injuries and will probably miss the main part of this T20 Blast over the next three to four weeks,” continued Alleyne.

“We had good options with a lot of guys that have done it before – Colin Ingram, Sam Northeast, but we thought Kiran, who did the four-day game (in Sussex) will continue to captain the side in his [David Lloyd’s] absence.

“He’s also in a rich vein of form and responded really well down in Hove to the responsibility of the captaincy, so we hope that continuing to do that can stimulate further performances in the Blast.”

Glamorgan Vitality Blast squad to face Gloucestershire:

Kiran Carlson (captain), Sam Northeast, Eddie Byrom, Colin Ingram, Chris Cooke, Billy Root, Michael Neser, Dan Douthwaite, Ben Kellaway, Prem Sisodiya, Timm Van der Gugten, Ruaidhri Smith, Harry Podmore, Jamie McIlroy.

(Lead image: Glamorgan CC)