Glamorgan relishing Labuschagne's two-game return
Glamorgan are relishing the prospect of Australian Test star Marnus Labuschagne arriving for two Championship games, in his sixth season with the county."It'll be good to have him involved, he knows the players, he brings energy and quality so it's great to have him back into the squad," said coach Richard Dawson."I've come up against him and met him a couple of times so I'm looking forward to working with him."Labuschagne will be able to acclimatise to British conditions prior to Australia's World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's in June.The South African-born batter has played some part in every year since his 2019 debut, apart from the Covid-hit season on 2020, although it is his briefest visit yet because of international commitments and recent paternity leave.
Labuschagne reached number one status in the world ranking of Test batters at one stage after his first Glamorgan trip as he became a Test regular in the 2019 Ashes series and beyond.Both his games in this month's brief return are at Sophia Gardens, facing Northants on Friday, 16 May and Middlesex the following week, with South African batter Colin Ingram, 39, rested before the T20 Blast despite his continuing strong performances."Col's in great form but the lads are excited and the club's excited to get Marnus in, he'll be hungry for runs and bring something different to the changing room," explained Dawson.Timm van der Gugten, who has played alongside Labuschagne since his Glamorgan debut, revealed he had already been in contact during their win at Kent."He'll bring another energy with him. He's already been on FaceTime and he arrives in the morning [Monday], so he's keen to get involved like he always is and it'll be nice to have him around the group," van der Gugten told BBC Sport Wales.Labuschagne is best known for his batting ability but has also bowled seam, leg-spin and off-spin during his time with Glamorgan.Sri Lankan paceman Asitha Fernando, who took three wickets in the second innings of the victory at Canterbury, has two red-ball games left on his contract while Glamorgan are yet to announce plans for a bowling recruit for the T20 Blast, with batter Ingram set to return for the opener against Middlesex at Northwood on Sunday, 1 June.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
30 minutes ago
- Telegraph
British junior reaches French Open final for first time in 49 years – thanks to Jack Draper
Sixteen-year-old Hannah Klugman thanked Jack Draper for his support and reassurance after becoming the first British junior to reach a singles final at the French Open in 49 years. Klugman came back from an early deficit on Friday afternoon to defeat Bulgaria's Rositsa Dencheva in a high-quality semi-final. Afterwards, she spoke warmly about Draper's contribution to her success. 'I struggled a little bit [last season] results-wise,' said Klugman after her 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory. 'I was working so hard and I felt like I was getting better, but I wasn't seeing results. 'My coach knows Jack quite well, so he set up a lunch for me, and I think he opened my perspective that everyone goes through these troubles, these issues. You don't realise it, but they are. '[We talked about] taking a step back and taking your time and realising it's OK. His big thing is consistency, every day working hard with the right mentality and things will come, it's just a matter of time. As soon as you get that level, everything comes.' By progressing to the girls' final – where she will play Austria's Lilli Tagger on Saturday – Klugman's added another good-news story to what has already been an encouraging French Open for the British contingent. Draper may have been disappointed by his fourth-round loss to Alexander Bublik, but overall we saw more players progressing in the main singles draw than at any time in the last half-century. Klugman is part of a strong generation of British girls, which also includes Mika Stojsavljevic – winner of September's US Open title – and Mingge Xu. Klugman made her name before the others when she won the 2023 Orange Bowl under-18 competition in Miami at the age of 14, thus following in the footsteps of numerous major champions including Coco Gauff, Bianca Andreescu and Sofia Kenin. Asked about her familiarity with clay – traditionally the most uncongenial surface for British players – Klugman replied: 'I wouldn't say I've played a lot, but I've probably played more than most British players. I started going to Barcelona with Jordi [Vilaro, her assistant coach], and I've improved massively by going there on the clay. I think it's really helped me. 'I think it's just a mentality thing. It's different. Every point is a grind, you've got to be ready for it and I think accepting that is the key. Me and my coach [Ben Haran] said, 'Let's do two months on clay, get my tennis better, my mentality better'. It's the end of the clay-court season and I'm doing really well.' An epic match point from Hannah Klugman to book her spot in the Junior @rolandgarros semi-final ⭐️ 🎥 @tntsports — LTA (@the_LTA) June 6, 2025 Klugman has a strong serve and a big, heavy topspin forehand that can be highly effective on these courts. Even though she is one of the youngest players in this competition, and could potentially play two more years of junior slam tennis, she said on Friday that she expects to turn professional next season. 'I came through very young,' said Klugman, who grew up not far from the All England Club in Wimbledon. 'I won Orange Bowl at 14, so I think this may be probably my last year [as a junior], hopefully. 'Juniors has been a big thing for me. Playing well when you're not the underdog, it's different. It's hard. You have to learn that. 'I'm trying to block that out and not have expectations. So not think, 'Why am I losing when I'm better than her?' It's not like that – in tennis anything can happen. It's about playing your best game and trying mentally to be there for every point.' The last British junior of either sex to reach a final at Roland Garros was Michelle Tyler, who won the girls' title in 1976. Tyler went on to have a modest singles career, and to play doubles with Sue Barker – the 1976 champion here – before retiring in her early 20s.
Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Live England vs West Indies, first T20: latest score and updates
Latest updates Luke Slater 06 June 2025 6:46pm 6:45PM OVER 2: ENG 21/1 (Smith 13 Buttler 4) Buttler gets off the mark with a lofted drive straight down the ground. A stand-and-deliver type shot. A bit full from Shepherd. Another single to Buttler to finish the over. Fair to say the atmosphere in the ground is a little... dead at the moment. Plenty of people there, though. 6:41PM WICKET! Duckett c Hope b Shepherd 1 Duckett tries to pull a slower ball back of a length and he is caught out... figuratively and literally. West Indies have an early wicket. Got a bit high and him and it went straight up in the air. Shai Hope gets under it and it is a very simple catch. 6:38PM OVER 1: ENG 16/0 (Duckett 1 Smith 13) Jason Holder to open the bowling. Four runs off the second ball of the over with Smith driving well down the ground. A bit of a delay as sawdust is applied to the footmarks on the pitch. Smith then goes over the top to a short one which is hoiked over to the deep square leg boundary. Guided it rather than killing it. Shai Hope thinks he might have caught Duckett with a snick down the leg side but he is the only one on the field. The umpire signals a wide and Duckett is off the mark next ball with a single. A very good first over for England so far without too much drama. It gets better as Smith then picks up his third four of the over by charging down the wicket and thumping the ball down the ground. He didn't get all of it and it sounded a bit... clothy... but it beat Andre Russell to the boundary. 6:09PM Team news 6:04PM England have won the toss They are going to have a bat. Harry Brook, England captain: 'It looks like a good pitch and hopefully we can get a decent score on the board.' Jos Buttler is batting at three. Hopefully he can do what he usually does, score big runs and win us matches,' Brook says. 5:58PM Mark Wood returns to bowling... at a very gentle intensity Good evening from Chester-le-Street, which is looking delightful in the sun. So we are expecting a full game. Local hero Mark Wood isn't playing, of course, but he made his first – very gentle – return to bowling today which should give England some cheer for the challenges that lie ahead. 5:54PM England's most recent results in T20 cricket Lost to India by 150 runs Lost to India by 15 runs Beat India by 26 runs Lost to India by two wickets Lost to India by seven wickets England did beat West Indies 3-1 in their most recent T20 series before this one, but India gave England a pasting.
Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Live Jannik Sinner vs Novak Djokovic: Score and updates from French Open semi-final
Good evening and welcome to coverage of the second men's semi-final at Roland Garros between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic. Sinner, the world No 1, is on a 19-match winning streak at the majors dating back to his victory at the US Open last summer. The 23-year-old Italian, who also won the Australian Open at the start of the year before serving a three-month suspension, has looked flawless in Paris. Last year, the then world No 2 lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals. The Spaniard of course went on to win the title and he awaits the winner of this contest after coming through his semi-final earlier against Lorenzo Musetti – the Italian was forced to retire in the fourth set with the score at 4-6, 7-6, 6-0, 2-0. Getting back to Sinner, the Italian's path to the last four has been seamless. He has not dropped a set in any of his five matches and ended his last outing in statement fashion – bagelling Jack Draper's conqueror Alexander Bublik in the third of the quarter-final. The three-time grand slam champion also handed out chastening beatings to Richard Gasquet in the Frenchman's final match before retiring in the second round (6-3, 6-0, 6-4), talented Czech Jiri Lehecka in round three (6-0, 6-1, 6-2) and 17th seed Andrey Rublev in round four (6-1, 6-3, 6-4). As for Djkovic, a three-time winner here, the 38-year-old has looked just as impressive as his Italian opponent. Before his quarter-final victory against Alexander Zverev, Djokovic had won all of his four matches in straights. The Serbian deployed the drop-shot play more than 30 times against Zverev in what turned out to be a tactical masterclass from the 24-time grand slam champion. After his victory on Wednesday, Djokovic, who was quite rightly pleased with his masterful performance, said: 'Tonight is one of the reasons why I still keep playing.' Scary.
