Latest news with #BenKellaway
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Kellaway shines as Glam pile pressure on Northants
Rothesay County Championship Division Two, Cardiff (day two)Northamptonshire 185: Procter 61; Fernando 3-28, Gorvin 3-36& 49-3: Procter 30*, Gorvin 2-3Glamorgan 424 (107.1 overs): Kellaway 95, Northeast 67, Van der Gugten 61, Carlson 54; Broad 3-82, Conway 3-99Northamptonshire (3 pts) trail Glamorgan (7 pts) by 190 runs with seven second-innings wickets standing Glamorgan strengthened their grip on the match against Northants with the visitors on 49-3 in their second innings, still 190 all-rounder Ben Kellaway led the way for Glamorgan with a fluent 95 off just 104 balls in their total of Sam Northeast (67) played a calm support role to Kiran Carlson's dashing 54 and Kellaway's exciting knock, while Timm van der Gugten's 61 made sure Glamorgan picked up four batting Broad, the pick of the attack on day two, and Harry Conway picked up three wickets apiece, but the visitors toiled as the pitch appeared to ease in the sun. Glamorgan seamer Andy Gorvin took two wickets in the penultimate over as Northants struggled to survive. Resuming on 82-3, Glamorgan made good early headway led by Carlson who found the gaps in the field in an attractive half-century in a stand of 96 with Sam Northeast, before Ben Sanderson snared Carlson into flicking a catch to short backward square leg. But Northants could not keep the pressure on despite two very tight spells from captain Luke Procter, leading by example as he also threw himself into a couple of boundary Northeast reached a patient 50 off 120 balls, the prolific Kellaway was quickly into his stride to take Glamorgan ahead before 21 year old all-rounder, who hit a career-best 181 not out at Canterbury in the previous match, was again in sparkling form with some sumptuous off-drives and a lofted straight six off leg-spinner Calvin played a composed supporting role in a partnership of 141 before he edged Justin Broad to looked set for three figures when Harrison got one to bounce and he was caught the double breakthrough did not end the visitors' suffering as Chris Cooke (36) and Van der Gugten added 87, the Netherlands international striking nine fours, before Broad dismissed bowlers Conway and Sanderson returned to wrap up the innings belatedly as Northants at least maintained their 100% record on bowling points in 2025. With 14 overs for the visitors to bat, James Harris had Ricardo Vasconcelos caught at slip for one. The hard-working Procter and George Bartlett looked set to bat out the final 40 minutes of the in the penultimate over Bartlett was given lbw to Gorvin, who then trapped nightwatchman Calvin Harrison plumb leg-before second ball to deepenNorthants' misery.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
An ambidextrous spinner is taking county cricket by storm
Credit: X/@CountyChamp Glamorgan were seeking the final Derbyshire wicket in the very last over of their Championship match earlier this month, after four days of hard graft. With spinner Ben Kellaway bowling, the Glamorgan captain Sam Northeast, one of many fielders crowding the batsman Luis Reece, signalled to his bowler that he should try something different: swapping his right-arm off-spin for left-arm orthodox. Kellaway obliged – informing the umpire first, of course. Advertisement The plan did not work, with Derbyshire surviving for a draw. 'There was a bit of rough outside the left-hander's off stump and we thought we'd give it a go,' he said. 'With two balls left there was nothing to lose, it might have shot through or bounced. Unfortunately I did not execute it to perfection.' Perhaps not that delivery, but Kellaway has got a lot right. In that innings, he registered career-best bowling figures of five for 101 and a week later, he had his maiden first-class hundred, 181 not out as a resurgent Glamorgan romped to their first win of the season. To avenge the draw against Derbyshire, it was fitting that Kellaway picked up the final two wickets against Kent. Kellaway made headlines last summer for his ambidextrous spin bowling, emerging as a cricketing curiosity. But that ball against Derbyshire is, so far, his only left-arm delivery of the new season, during which he has proved he is not a mere novelty act, but a 21-year-old all-rounder of real substance, with many arrows in his quiver. From No 6, he is averaging 64 with the bat and whether as a primary (behind Shoaib Bashir and perhaps soon the fit-again Mason Crane) or secondary spinner, 25 with the ball. With a former England spinner, Richard Dawson, now coaching Glamorgan, Kellaway has kicked on hugely. 'My main skills have always been being a middle-order batter and bowling off-spin. I want and need them to be as strong as possible,' he tells Telegraph Sport. 'The both arms thing is talked about a lot, and has taken over a bit. If the left-arm stuff can be used effectively, then great but those two main skills will always be my main focus.' Advertisement Bowling left-arm spin was a happy byproduct of lockdown boredom for Kellaway, who was born in Newport, learnt the game at Chepstow Cricket Club, and educated at Clifton College. 'It was a complete mess about,' he explains. 'Everyone obviously had so much time on their hands during Covid and my younger brother and I were both teenagers into cricket, so we just played in the backyard, messing around with swing balls and tennis balls. I then parked it for a while, and got it out occasionally in the nets at school. I never took it seriously.' Grant Bradburn, the former Glamorgan coach, saw Kellaway bowl left-arm in the nets, and encouraged him to practise 'to stand out'. Over the last 18 months, he has bowled more with his left arm in the nets, to the point that it accounts for about 30 per cent of his bowling practice. 'I'll do my main training as right arm, then when I have some extra time practise with the left,' he says. 'At first my whole left side was weaker and I got very sore. But it's getting stronger and my action is getting better. I've still got loads of work to do, but it's moving in the right direction.' Advertisement For now, Kellaway sees his party trick as primarily for white-ball cricket to nullify match-ups. Last July, he became the first bowler in county cricket to take a wicket with each arm in the same innings, since Kent's Charles Rowe in 1980. Such skill remains very rare, with Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis – now one of the world's best batsmen – occasionally doing it, too. 'That was baffling,' he said. 'I didn't think much of it at the time. I'd just been told to give it a crack and it worked. The whole spell I bowled 50/50. To get a wicket was surreal, and the reaction in the days that followed made me realise how unusual it was. It's different and I'm quite excited by where I can take it. 'It needs some more work to bowl longer spells in championship cricket, but I do find that when I bowl longer spells in the nets, I find it easier, and get some rhythm. Just dropping in for a ball here or there is hard.' One of the bizarre aspects of this tale is how Kellaway can do little else with his left hand. From a family with no link to cricket, he played rugby as a child, and could 'just about pass off my left hand, but nowhere near as strong as my right'. Advertisement 'People find that very funny,' he says. 'I am totally right-hand dominant but weirdly this comes quite naturally. I have tried throwing a cricket ball with my left hand and it's terrible. It's quite common to bowl with one arm and throw with another, Tymal Mills and Jack Leach do that. But that's not me at all.' Kellaway points out that when Glamorgan have been at their strongest, such as when they last won the championship in 1997, they had a strong core of Welsh players. 'That's a proud thing for the club, and we are striving for more Welsh representation. The way the pathway is set up, I think we will see more coming through. My family weren't into cricket, but some mates just took me down to the club in Chepstow and I loved it. Hopefully we can inspire more Welsh kids to get into the game.' Kellaway is just 21, and could yet become an outstanding batsman, off-spinner and left-arm spinner, giving Glamorgan a Welsh core all on his own. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
An ambidextrous is spinner taking county cricket by storm
Glamorgan were seeking the final Derbyshire wicket in the very last over of their Championship match earlier this month, after four days of hard graft. With spinner Ben Kellaway bowling, the Glamorgan captain Sam Northeast, one of many fielders crowding the batsman Luis Reece, signalled to his bowler that he should try something different: swapping his right-arm off-spin for left-arm orthodox. Kellaway obliged – informing the umpire first, of course. The plan did not work, with Derbyshire surviving for a draw. 'There was a bit of rough outside the left-hander's off-stump and we thought we'd give it a go,' he said. 'With two balls left there was nothing to lose, it might have shot through or bounced. Unfortunately I did not execute it to perfection.' Perhaps not that delivery, but Kellaway has got a lot right. In that innings, he registered his maiden first-class five-wicket haul and a week later, he had his maiden first-class hundred, 181 not out as a resurgent Glamorgan romped to their first win of the season. To avenge the draw against Derbyshire, it was fitting that Kellaway picked up the final two wickets against Kent. Kellaway made headlines last summer for his ambidextrous spin bowling, emerging as a cricketing curiosity. But that ball against Derbyshire is, so far, his only left-arm delivery of the new season, during which he has proved he is not a mere novelty act, but a 21-year-old all-rounder of real substance, with many arrows in his quiver. From No 6, he is averaging 64 with the bat and whether as a primary (behind Shoaib Bashir and perhaps soon the fit-again Mason Crane) or secondary spinner, 25 with the ball. With a former England spinner, Richard Dawson, now coaching Glamorgan, Kellaway has kicked on hugely. The first of many 💯 Relive the moment Ben Kellaway got his first-ever County Championship hundred 👏 WATCH LIVE: #KENTvGLAM #OhGlammyGlammy — Glamorgan Cricket 🏆 (@GlamCricket) May 10, 2025 'My main skills have always been being a middle order batter and bowling off-spin. I want and need them to be as strong as possible,' he tells Telegraph Sport. 'The both arms thing is talked about a lot, and has taken over a bit. If the left-arm stuff can be used effectively, then great but those two main skills will always be my main focus.' Bowling left-arm spin was a happy byproduct of lockdown boredom for Kellaway, who was born in Newport, learnt the game at Chepstow Cricket Club, and educated at Clifton College. 'It was a complete mess about,' he explains. 'Everyone obviously had so much time on their hands during Covid and my younger brother and I were both teenagers into cricket, so we just played in the backyard, messing around with swing balls and tennis balls. I then parked it for a while, and got it out occasionally in the nets at school. I never took it seriously.' Grant Bradburn, the former Glamorgan coach, saw Kellaway bowl left-arm in the nets, and encouraged him to practise 'to stand out'. Over the last 18 months, he has bowled more with his left arm in the nets, to the point that it accounts for about 30% of his bowling practice. 'I'll do my main training as right arm, then when I have some extra time practise with the left,' he says. 'At first my whole left side was weaker and I got very sore. But it's getting stronger and my action is getting better. I've still got loads of work to do, but it's moving in the right direction.' For now, Kellaway sees his party trick as primarily for white-ball to nullify match-ups. Last July, he became the first bowler in county cricket to take a wicket with each arm in the same innings, since Kent's Charles Rowe in 1980. Such skill remains very rare, with Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis – now one of the world's best batsmen – occasionally doing it, too. 'That was baffling,' he said. 'I didn't think much of it at the time. I'd just been told to give it a crack and it worked. The whole spell I bowled 50/50. To get a wicket was surreal, and the reaction in the days that followed made me realise how unusual it was. It's different and I'm quite excited by where I can take it. 'It needs some more work to bowl longer spells in Championship cricket, but I do find that when I bowl longer spells in the nets, I find it easier, and get some rhythm. Just dropping in for a ball here or there is hard.' One of the bizarre aspects of this tale is how Kellaway can do little else with his left hand. From a family with no link to cricket, he played rugby as a kid, and could 'just about pass off my left hand, but nowhere near as strong as my right'. 'People find that very funny,' he says. 'I am totally right hand dominant but weirdly this comes quite naturally. I have tried throwing a cricket ball with my left hand and it's terrible. It's quite common to bowl with one arm and throw with another, Tymal Mills and Jack Leach do that. But that's not me at all.' Kellaway points out that when Glamorgan have been at their strongest, such as when they last won the Championship in 1997, they had a strong core of Welsh players. 'That's a proud thing for the club, and we are striving for more Welsh representation. The way the pathway is set up, I think we will see more coming through. My family weren't into cricket, but some mates just took me down to the club in Chepstow and I loved it. Hopefully we can inspire more Welsh kids to get into the game.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kellaway best sees Glamorgan pile pressure on Kent
Rothesay County Championship Division Two, The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury (day two) Glamorgan 549-9 dec (132 overs): Kellaway 181*, Tribe 94, Ingram 70; Kashif Ali 4-92, Parkinson 3-149 Kent 156-8 (58 overs): Benjamin 68*; Van der Gugten 3-23, Harris 3-40 Kent (2 pts) trail Glamorgan (6 pts) by 393 runs with two first-innings wickets standing Match scorecard A stunning innings of 181 not out from Glamorgan's Ben Kellaway boosted his side to a massive 549 for nine declared against Kent, the hosts struggling to 156-8 in reply. It was a maiden, and chanceless, century for the 21-year-old Welsh all-rounder as Glamorgan piled on the runs. Left needing 400 to avoid the possibility of a follow-on, Kent lost half their side for just 23 to Timm van der Gugten and James Harris. Chris Benjamin (68 not out) led a relative fightback but the hosts are still under the cosh at the halfway stage. It was a remarkable turnaround of fortunes from the opening weeks of the season, when Kent won two out of three while Glamorgan lost two from three. Notifications, social media and more with BBC Sport Resuming on 389-7 with Kellaway on 91 and the battle for bonus points the other immediate concern, the Chepstow youngster was happy to take his time over reaching three figures, achieved with a stylish cover drive for three off Kashif Ali. Partner Andy Gorvin was dropped behind on 14 off Kashif but put together a quietly efficient stand of 108 with Kellaway as Kent suffered in the sun, collecting just two bowling points to the visitors' four with the bat. Gorvin eventually holed out to deep square off perspiring leg-spinner Matt Parkinson for a solid 47 off 99 balls. Parkinson bowled James Harris for 12 as he looked to add quick runs after lunch, but Kellaway struck him for three successive sixes and a four in a spectacular burst of hitting before Sam Northeast called them in. Kellaway faced 228 balls, striking 18 fours in addition to those maximums over mid-wicket, having hit a maiden first-class 50 only two matches ago. Kent, under scoreboard pressure, then lost five wickets for just 23 inside 15 overs, after the returning Harris struck with his second ball of the season, having Harry Finch lbw before forcing Ben Compton to lob a catch to gully. Van der Gugten had Kent captain Daniel Bell-Drummond, off the back of a double hundred, in all sorts of trouble before he edged to slip. In a hostile nine-over spell, the Netherlands international then had Tawanda Muyeye and debutant Ekansh Singh caught at short-leg as both lobbed up catches, before Jack Leaning and Benjamin steadied the ship in a stand of 81. Leaning had problems against Asitha Fernando, reaching 37 before the Sri Lankan won an lbw verdict, and Harris quickly forced Grant Stewart to play on. Benjamin, the wicketkeeper recruited from Warwickshire, was lucky to survive a few moments against the seam of Zain Ul Hassan on his way to 50 off 83 balls. Andy Gorvin had Matt Parkinson well caught behind off the inside edge for 13 though George Garrett survived the closing overs alongside Benjamin. Glamorgan's Ben Kellaway told BBC Sport Wales: "I'm fatigued but delighted to kick on this morning after a solid start yesterday, and to get us into a solid position in the game, it's a really nice feeling. "I wasn't trying to force anything (to get to a hundred) because that would have been my downfall, so it was nice to get over the line after 30 minutes. "I had to take it step by then, Gorv and me got through the first half-hour and built from there, it was nice to get a few away after lunch and give us momentum, the short boundary was tempting. "It was the right time for us to pull out and have a crack at them. The way Timm and James bowled upfront and the others have backed them up has been superb, we bowled accurately and got the rewards. "It's pretty surreal, I'm delighted to have got the opportunity in the middle order, it's nice to have things coming together and it's really helped my confidence."
BBC News
10-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Kellaway best sees Glamorgan pile pressure on Kent
Rothesay County Championship Division Two, The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury (day two)Glamorgan 549-9 dec (132 overs): Kellaway 181*, Tribe 94, Ingram 70; Kashif Ali 4-92, Parkinson 3-149Kent 156-8 (58 overs): Benjamin 68*; Van der Gugten 3-23, Harris 3-40Kent (2 pts) trail Glamorgan (6 pts) by 393 runs with two first-innings wickets standingMatch scorecard A stunning innings of 181 not out from Glamorgan's Ben Kellaway boosted his side to a massive 549 for nine declared against Kent, the hosts struggling to 156-8 in was a maiden, and chanceless, century for the 21-year-old Welsh all-rounder as Glamorgan piled on the needing 400 to avoid the possibility of a follow-on, Kent lost half their side for just 23 to Timm van der Gugten and James Harris. Chris Benjamin (68 not out) led a relative fightback but the hosts are still under the cosh at the halfway was a remarkable turnaround of fortunes from the opening weeks of the season, when Kent won two out of three while Glamorgan lost two from three. Resuming on 389-7 with Kellaway on 91 and the battle for bonus points the other immediate concern, the Chepstow youngster was happy to take his time over reaching three figures, achieved with a stylish cover drive for three off Kashif Andy Gorvin was dropped behind on 14 off Kashif but put together a quietly efficient stand of 108 with Kellaway as Kent suffered in the sun, collecting just two bowling points to the visitors' four with the eventually holed out to deep square off perspiring leg-spinner Matt Parkinson for a solid 47 off 99 bowled James Harris for 12 as he looked to add quick runs after lunch, but Kellaway struck him for three successive sixes and a four in a spectacular burst of hitting before Sam Northeast called them in. Kellaway faced 228 balls, striking 18 fours in addition to those maximums over mid-wicket, having hit a maiden first-class 50 only two matches under scoreboard pressure, then lost five wickets for just 23 inside 15 overs, after the returning Harris struck with his second ball of the season, having Harry Finch lbw before forcing Ben Compton to lob a catch to der Gugten had Kent captain Daniel Bell-Drummond, off the back of a double hundred, in all sorts of trouble before he edged to a hostile nine-over spell, the Netherlands international then had Tawanda Muyeye and debutant Ekansh Singh caught at short-leg as both lobbed up catches, before Jack Leaning and Benjamin steadied the ship in a stand of had problems against Asitha Fernando, reaching 37 before the Sri Lankan won an lbw verdict, and Harris quickly forced Grant Stewart to play the wicketkeeper recruited from Warwickshire, was lucky to survive a few moments against the seam of Zain Ul Hassan on his way to 50 off 83 Gorvin had Matt Parkinson well caught behind off the inside edge for 13 though George Garrett survived the closing overs alongside Benjamin.
