No Demons Or Excuses Admits Rudolph

Jacques Rudolph admitted his Glamorgan players have been left with no excuses after another defeat kept them at the foot of the County Championship Division Two table.

The Glamorgan skipper promised his team would up their performances after crashing to a 125-run defeat to Gloucestershire on Wednesday.

The loss – which followed a dreadful second innings batting collapse – leaves the county rooted to the foot of the table after suffering three defeats and no victories in their first five matches of the season.

The Bristol defeat was probably the most painful of the lot. Chasing 269 to win in 76 overs, the visitors progressed to 87 without loss, only then to lose all ten wickets for 56 runs from a seemingly winning position.

South African Rudolph said: “I genuinely thought we had a great chance of winning after our opening partnership. We then lost 10 wickets for something like 60 on a flat wicket.

“There was some poor execution of shots which produced catches on the boundary, mid-off and mid-on. It is difficult to explain that. There were no demons in the pitch. It was a good wicket.

“From the position we were in we would probably win eight times out of 10, but it wasn’t our day.

“It’s important now that we have a good look at ourselves and make sure we improve. We are getting ourselves into winning positions and then throwing them away.

“It was poor execution, we had guys caught on the boundary, at mid-off and mid-on, and it’s difficult to explain.

“It’s hard work at the moment, but we have to re-group and start afresh. I have been in positions like this before and you have to be a bit careful about over-analysing stuff, we’ve got to stick to the basics.”

Three of Glamorgan’s wickets fell to the left-arm spin of South African Graeme van Buuren, on his Gloucestershire debut. He removed the top three Glamorgan batsmen Mark Wallace (50), Jacques Rudolph (36) and Will Bragg in a nine-over spell from the Pavilion End that ended with figures of 3 for 15.

Craig Miles (3 for 55) and Jack Taylor (4 for 16) then continued the carnage – Miles removing the middle order and off-spinner Taylor taking two wickets in his first over and two more after tea to end the game.