da pixbet： When Michael Vaughan was appointed the England one-day international captain, the glamour and excitement of leading his country out against Australia at Sydney or South Africa at Cape Town must have been at the forefront of his mind
da heads bet： Freddie Auld03-Jun-2003When Michael Vaughan was appointed the England one-day international captain, the glamour and excitement of leading his country out against Australia at Sydney or South Africa at Cape Town must have been at the forefront of his mind. But his first game in charge is quite a different prospect – it’s against Wales at Cardiff.But any thoughts of a Welsh walkover will have been banished after last year’s fixture, in which a lacklustre England – captained by Marcus Trescothick – went down by an embarrassing eight wickets. Wales loved it – and they today announced their squad for this year’s rematch, sponsored by NatWest, taking place on Saturday, June 14.As expected, the majority of the Wales squad play for Glamorgan – including their overseas player Michael Kasprowicz – with only Steffan Jones (Somerset) and Tony Cottey (Sussex) coming from elsewhere. However, they do have their injury worries: Steve James and Darren Thomas are currently sidelined by knee injuries, Cottey has been struggling this season with a bad back, and Simon Jones is still out of action after the sickening knee injury he suffered against Australia last November. Geraint Jones, enjoying a fruitful season behind the stumps at Kent, unluckily misses out to Glamorgan’s Mark Wallace.And taking a leaf out of the Welsh rugby team’s book, the selectors scouted the cricket world for any potential adoptions. Craig Spearman, who has played 19 Tests and 51 ODIs for New Zealand and is currently playing for Gloucestershire, was born in Wales, and Stuart MacGill, Australia’s No. 1 legspinner (when Shane Warne isn’t available), has Welsh family. However, both have not been included, as they will be required by their counties for Twenty20 matches that same weekend, and, according to the management, “It was felt that as the current National Cricket League champions, there was already a good nucleus from within the Glamorgan playing staff and that they should make up the majority of the Welsh squad.”John Derrick, the Wales and Glamorgan coach, agreed. “We know that having lost the inaugural match last June the England team will be approaching the game with victory in mind, and of course it will be a very hard game indeed. But it’s a fantastic concept and we hope the Welsh public will again come out in force and support the Wales players in what we hope will be another memorable and successful occasion.”Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, has a foot in both camps after a brief spell in charge at Glamorgan, and he expressed his support and encouragement of what could become a more permanent fixture: “I know from my time with Glamorgan that the concept of Wales playing England is one that the whole of Wales embraces, but it provided us with a very important practice period in 2002 and we welcome the opportunity to repeat it.”He continued: “Certainly I believe there is room for this fixture as a regular on the cricketing calendar, not just to help us but also because of what it can do for the development and profile of cricket in Wales. After last year’s result we’re naturally keen to win the game and exact some revenge.”NatWest will be launching their “Summer of Cricket” in Cardiff the day before the game, as well as launching their newly sponsored Inter Cricket programme. The NatWest Interactive Zone will be on the ground on both the Friday and the Saturday.Provisional Wales Squad
Steve James (capt), Ian Thomas, Robert Croft, Michael Powell, Matthew Maynard, David Hemp, Adrian Dale, Tony Cottey, Jonathan Hughes, Mark Wallace (wk), David Harrison, Michael Kasprowicz, Darren Thomas, Alex Wharf, Steffan Jones, Andrew Davies, Dean CoskerThere are still tickets available for the Wales v England game, priced £25 for adults and £5 for juniors, and tickets for all of the matches taking place as part of the Festival of Cricket, including the NatWest Series One-Day International between South Africa and Zimbabwe on July 5, can be obtained either by calling in to the Glamorgan offices in Cardiff or by telephoning 029 2040 9380.For further information please contact:Mike FatkinChief ExecutiveGlamorgan County Cricket ClubSophia GardensCardiff CF11 9XRTel: (029) 2040 9380Mark HodgsonMedia Relations ManagerEngland and Wales Cricket BoardLord’s Cricket GroundLondon NW8 8QZTel: (020) 7432 1200
