Never Mind The Format . . . Just Give Me A Bat, Says Glamorgan’s Chris Cooke

By David Williams

Glamorgan captain Chris Cooke has insisted he doesn’t care what format of cricket he plays over the next few weeks, so long as he can swing a bat.

The county’s skipper has joined with the rest of the squad in resuming training this week as they prepare for the much delayed start of the season.

Plans have been put in place for the county game to resume on August 1, although there has been disagreement and fierce debate about what type of cricket should take priority.

Some counties wanted to play only white ball, limited over cricket in order to maximise their revenues, but Glamorgan were one of those counties who argued to include some red ball action for the benefit of members who still value the four-day game.

A fixture list is still to be released by the England and Wales Cricket Board. But two competitions of four-day and Twenty20 cricket have been under discussion, based on regional groups.

“It didn’t really matter what format or what teams we were going to play,” said Cooke.

“I think everyone was just so keen to get going and we would’ve taken anything.

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“We’ve got to adapt quickly and learn quickly, but we’ve got a couple of practice games coming up so that will be a good chance to look at some new tactics.”

Cooke’s captaincy reign at Glamorgan has been unusual – he missed games last year due to a serious ankle injury, and had his hopes on another promotion push dented by the ongoing pandemic, but he still sees a chance for silverware in 2020.

“We had a good four-day campaign last year, so we want to carry on with that,” he said.

“There’s still the T20 to look forward to as well. We had a bit of a shocker in that last year, so there are things we want to put right. This is the new normal and everyone’s delighted to be back.

“A couple of things have been very different, it’s much stricter getting in and out of the ground, there’s a one-way system and all the social distancing.

“It’s good to be back facing different bowlers, the rust is gone and everyone is starting to nail their skills a bit more so the standard is raising.”

 

The tale of many a cricketer over the last few weeks…

Billy Root gets de Lange, before de Lange gets set for revenge 💪#GoGlam 🏏 pic.twitter.com/cCEsaY2hN3

— Glamorgan Cricket 🏏 (@GlamCricket) July 13, 2020

There is still no decision yet made on when, or if, crowds will be allowed, at any point between August 1 and the end of September.

The originally scheduled 2020 season was due to end on Friday, 25 September.

That would have been the final day of the final round of County Championship fixtures, to follow T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston on the preceding Saturday.

The latest end to an English county cricket season was in 2017, when they finished on 29 September.