David Lloyd Is Glamorgan’s Key Man As They Bid To Unlock One-Day Form

By Alun Rhys Chivers

North-Walian all-rounder David Lloyd believes  Glamorgan can bounce back from the disappointment of their two-run defeat against Somerset on Sunday in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

Having slumped to 21 for five at one stage, the middle-order and tail made up for a dismal top-order batting display, which subsequently saw Marnus Labuschagne, Charlie Hemphrey and Kiran Carlson selected for the Second XI against Somerset’s Second XI at Taunton Vale on Tuesday.

Following his 68 against Hampshire, Lloyd hit 84 from 93 balls, Graham Wagg struck 62 and Lukas Carey made a valiant 39 in the closing stages on Sunday.

The Welsh side ultimately failed to register their first win in one-day cricket this season, and now face tough opposition in last year’s runners-up Kent at Sophia Gardens on Thursday.

“The boys showed great character,” Lloyd said.

“To even get anywhere near their score from where we were was a good fight from the lads, and something which we can take into the next game.

“They showed unbelievable amounts of skill and character to get to where we were and they deserve a lot of credit for what they did, but we can’t rely on them to save us again.”

Of his own performance, Lloyd added: “It’s always nice to get runs but if we don’t get the results we need, it’s a bit irrelevant.

“It would have been nice for one of us to finish the game off. We can work on that and go into the next game and take it deeper.”

Such was Glamorgan’s confidence after pre-season, that interim head coach Matthew Maynard believed that the side were better placed to begin a season than they had been for the past few seasons.

David Lloyd thinks that it is possible that some batsmen “might be short on confidence”.

“If we can get a good start, we’ve shown in the middle order and the tail that we can keep fighting,” he said.

“If we can get through the first ten overs with one [wicket] down, then we’re more likely to win the game. We can’t keep on expecting to lose two or three and succeed. That’s hard.

“Batting wise, it’s just runs. The formula is right, it’s just people low on confidence. Those things happen. If we can change those first ten overs and get through them unscathed, we’re more likely to win a game.”

Glamorgan will most likely need to win all of their remaining group games if they are to progress to the knockout stages, but Lloyd is not giving up hope as they prepare to face a Kent side that has lost its first four games.

“It’s a huge ask but we’ll take each game and search for our first win,” he said. “Once you get the first win, hopefully you can go on a roll – you never know!”

Glamorgan’s fate could hinge largely on Lloyd’s form batting at number four, a role into which he says he has grown, and continues to grow.

“I’m another year older, I’m getting to know my game a bit more each year, sticking to a game plan and trying to bat,” he said.

“It’s obviously tough when you lose wickets but then you try and fight for the team, which can help.

“For me, it’s always nice to have something on my wicket. At the moment, I’ve scored runs. That’ll change and someone else will score runs and I’ll go through a dip. You’ve just got to take each game as it comes and keep working hard in training and try to keep performing in the games.”

 

:: A full list of fixtures for the Royal London One-Day Cup can be found here. Tickets for Glamorgan home matches can be purchased on the county’s website via this link.

Royal London One-Day Cup fixtures link: https://www.ecb.co.uk/matches/one-day-cup/fixtures

Glamorgan tickets link: https://tickets.glamorgancricket.com/Online/