REACTION: \"I was pleased with the character we showed\"

17 Aug 2018 | Cricket
Head Coach Robert Croft was proud of the character that his team showed despite falling victim to a DLS defeat to Surrey at Sophia Gardens.

Glamorgan had set the visitors a target of 184 before Surrey’s innings was hampered by rain. Big hitting from Aaron Finch in the opening and only five overs to be played were enough to see the London based outfit take victory.  

The Welsh county went in to the fixture with an outside chance of qualifying for the Vitality Blast quarter-finals, however Sussex were victorious in Hove against Middlesex meaning Glamorgan fell agonisingly short of a third consecutive appearance in the knockout stages.  

“I was relatively pleased with our total of 180 plus on that wicket, but I was also pleased with the character that we showed,” said Croft. 

“After the last game we had where we got blown apart by [Sussex’s] bowling attack, to be able to go on the field and bat like that had no significance on us. 

“It was a bit of a lottery towards the end and I was surprised we went on after the fourth over. We’ll move on and reflect on this competition, and as far as I'm concerned, I've seen a lot of good character by our squad. 

“We’ve had a lot thrown against us in this tournament, injuries coming out of our ears and lots of times when you’re turning up at grounds without your ‘elite’ players, one’s who you’re banking on and we’ve come away with victories so that should give people a lot of confidence going forward. 

“It’s been a tough competition this year, I think all the sides in the South group are very tough. What has happened is that two, three, four sides have fallen away dramatically and they haven’t beaten sides along the way which have pegged people back in the past. 

“Results come from performance and that’s what I'm looking at as a coach. You’re looking at how you play better, how can individuals play better and the team. You’re also looking at whether individuals are ready to play better yet, some of the guys I've mentioned before are still in their infancy of their careers and we’ve got a lot of those guys on the field at the same time."