Match Preview: Glamorgan v Kent, LV= CC, 3 – 6 September

Glamorgan v Kent

LV= County Championship Division Two

3 September – 6 September, 10.30am start

SWALEC Ground, Cardiff

Kent make the trip to the Welsh capital this week to take on Glamorgan as the LV= County Championship division two season enters its final month of the season.

Team news:

Head Coach Jimmy Adams has named a 12-man squad for the four-day clash, with Geraint Jones captaining the side as James Tredwell is on international duty. Adam Riley is expected to be named as the spinner and either Mark Davies or Ivan Thomas will be called in to replace Mitch Claydon, who has been recalled by Durham from his loan spell at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.

Kent: Jones (c/wk), Key, Northeast, Bell-Drummond, Nash, Harmison, Stevens, Haggett, Riley, Shreck, Davies, Thomas.

Players to watch:

With skipper Tredwell away with England, Adam Riley will be looking to make the most of his opportunity in the first-team. The 21 year-old has taken 35 first-class wickets at an average of 37.97 and continues to impress in the Spitfires' one-day side.

All-rounder Jim Allenby has recently committed his long-term future to Glamorgan after another fine season. He has scored 985 runs at an average of 61.56 and has taken 19 wickets, making him an integral part of the side.

Season so far:

After coming within just one wicket of beating Gloucestershire in their last Championship outing, Kent still have only one win to their name this season and sit second from bottom in division two, having taken 96 points from 12 games.

Glamorgan also look like they will be playing second division cricket next season with the Welsh county currently sitting in sixth place, on 116 points, with three games to play. In their last outing, Glamorgan slumped to a heavy defeat at the hands of promotion chasing Northamptonshire with the Wantage Road outfit winning by an innings and 25 runs.

Previous meetings:

When the two sides met at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence earlier in the season rain ensured Kent were able to secure a draw after they were forced to follow-on. The visitors posted 378, batting first, with veteran batsman Murray Goodwin scoring a century. Kent fell to 135 in reply but a mixture of bad weather and stoic batting ensured the hosts were able to secure a draw. Darren Stevens was the star of the show, making 119, as Kent reached 489 for nine to secure the draw.

Last season when Kent travelled to Wales in the final round of fixtures, they still had a chance to claim promotion back to division one but Glamorgan put paid to that with a seven wicket win. The home side made 390, after recovering from 252 for eight, with Allenby making an unbeaten 125. Kent were below-par in their response with Robert Croft taking 5-31 in his final first-class match as the visitors fell to just 170 all-out. Following on, 81 from wicketkeeper Geraint Jones gave Kent hope but three wickets apiece for John Glover and Allenby saw them dismissed for 280. Despite losing three-wickets, Glamorgan reached their victory target of 61 to secure a final day victory.