Tom Maynard

The passing of a day has made it no more easier to comprehend the loss of Tom Maynard. The strength of emotion has been evident in tributes from those close to Tom, along with others from across the cricket-loving fraternity who knew him only as a great batsman and the tremendous player he was destined to be.

As a Glamorgan fan, it seemed inevitable he would prove to be a special talent. In the same mould of his father Matthew, Tom was a big-hitting batsman who could easily wreak havoc with any bowling attack. It seemed just as inevitable that Tom would become just as legendary for the Dragons as his father had become.

Tom’s decision to leave Glammy was a disappointing, yet an understandable one. At Surrey, he would continue to develop his career and England honours seemed a likely prospect. England selection decisions can have a tendency to polarise but I am sure there would have been a broad consensus in favour of Tom’s inclusion.

With that in mind, his loss makes no sense. Words are sometimes limited in their ability to explain things. And this is perhaps one of those times. RIP Tom.

Twenty20 Vision

A colleague of mine asked me on Thursday if I still did my blog. “Oh yes” I declared, before realising the last piece I’d written was in late April. It does not say a great deal for the events in May, where Glamorgan continued to find wins as elusive as Lord Lucan. Yeah, even now, digging up the old Lord Lucan gags.

I don’t really like hyperbole and rash predictions, but things are DEFINITELY on an upward curve. The annual trip up north to Colwyn Bay yielded the first win of the season against Durham, and now the Friends Life t20 is underway and things suddenly appear a lot brighter.

Which is more than can be said for the weather.

The crashbangwallop format will no doubt be dominated by the usual suspects in the hunt for a place at Finals Day. If we concede that Somerset will be turning up to the SWALEC to claim their silver medals, there’s three spots left and I’m of the belief that Glamorgan could nab one of ’em.

And I’m not just founding this belief on blind loyalty. There are people – proper, real people – out there who believe Glammy are in with a shout, describing their prospects in hallowed terms such as “worth a punt”, “alright” and “Chelsea won the Champions League, didn’t they”.

The rain prevented a result at Northants, which was a frustrating start to what is going to be a glorious Friends Life t20 tournament for Glamorgan. Sunday is the day when we’ll finally (or perhaps not, weather) see whether my 35/1 punt on the Dragons is a worthy investment. Or as useful as a bailout to the Greeks.

So. Yes. Glamorgan are capable of doing something special this season. And I’m going to stick my head out of the parapet and insist that the Dragons will appear at finals day. And not as ball boys, before anyone gets cheeky. I believe it. And I am sure that, one day, someone else might do too…