Blow for Glamorgan as Byrom will miss the rest of the season
GLAMORGAN opening bat Eddie Byrom has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a leg injury.
Byrom limped off after falling awkwardly in the field during the One-day Cup win at Essex.
He was expected to be a regular in the rest of the 50-overs competition and the four-day Championship.
Byrom (pictured) also missed the first three Championship games after dislocating his shoulder during pre-season.
All-rounder Ben Kellaway was the latest to be promoted to the opener role against Derbyshire, making nought and 36, and taking three wickets.
“Ben is a special talent and we feel that he deserves an opportunity in the team, although it’s not necessarily his favoured position,” said coach Grant Bradburn.
“But with injuries to Eddie and no-one really grabbing the opening slot by the scruff of the neck, it was a nice opportunity to get Ben and Dan Douthwaite in the side, two all-rounders.”
Glamorgan used Will Smale and Asa Tribe to open in the One Day Cup after Byrom’s injury, while Billy Root has featured at the top of the order in nine Championship games and Zain Ul Hassan did the job in the first three.
The county has struggled for consistency among opening batters, with 12 different players - more than half the senior squad - performing the role in 2023.
Meanwhile seam bowler James Harris is not yet fit to return from a quad injury suffered against Northamptonshire in June, though Bradburn is hopeful he will play again this season.
Canterbury’s Fraser Sheat and onloan Somerset bowler Ned Leonard both made debuts in the defeat at Derby.
Glamorgan have three of their four remaining Championship matches at home, starting against Leicestershire today, as well as a One-day Cup final date against Somerset at Trent Bridge on Sunday 22 September.
Meanwhile, Sophia Gardens will host two England men’s internationals in 2025 with West Indies and South Africa visiting Cardiff.
West Indies will face England in a one-day international in Cardiff on Sunday, 1 June as part of their first white-ball series in England and Wales since 2017.
The Welsh capital will then play host to T20 World Cup finalists South Africa, who take on England on Wednesday, 10 September.
It will be the Proteas’ first match at Sophia Gardens since they beat England by 58 runs in front of a sold out crowd in Cardiff in July 2022.
“We always look forward to announcing our international fixtures each year and are proud to be hosting South Africa and West Indies in 2025.,” said Glamorgan chief executive Dan Cherry.
“It will be fantastic to welcome the West Indies back to Sophia Gardens after eight years and will allow us to continue our excellent relationship which strengthened in the 1990s due to the great Viv Richards representing Glamorgan with great distinction.”
He added: “South Africa have a team full of exciting players and we have hosted a number of enthralling matches between these teams over recent years. We look forward to another great spectacle and a full stadium next September.”
Twelve England men’s games have been allocated to Glamorgan over the next seven years.
England women are also due to play five times at Sophia Gardens in that period, the first in 2026.