Aneurin Donald Record Fails To Lift Gloom For Glamorgan

Aneurin Donald may have become a Glamorgan record breaker, but that has done little to lift the mood of head coach Robert Croft after another crushing defeat.

Donald, 19, became the youngest Glamorgan batsman to reach 1,000 first-class runs in a season on Thursday before his county succumbed to a 10-wicket defeat at home to Gloucestershire.

It was the county’s seventh defeat of a dismal championship season, their third defeat in a row, and second inside just three days.

Glamorgan are now bottom but one of Division Two, propped up only by Derbyshire and their familiar failings have left Croft with nowhere to go except an honest assessment.

“The only entertainment I want is winning entertainment,” said Croft, whose team could yet finish at the foot of the table if Derbyshire find some form.

“We let ourselves down badly in the first innings, on that pitch which was green and damp to start. To get bowled out for 220 with some pretty slack batting after we got to 130 for 3, was not ideal.

“We had a couple of chances the second morning and didn’t take them and it cost us. Then, in the third innings, the pitch was flat, we played some slack shots and it cost us.

“We’ve had a lot of young players this year who are learning the game. We’ve also got a number of senior players out (Jacques Rudolph, Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke), and that’s telling.”

Donald beat the landmark set by Matthew Maynard, who scored 1,000 runs at the age of 20 in 1986.

Former England spin bowler Croft will be desperate for his side to put things right in their next match, at Division Two leaders Essex at Chelmsford on Monday.