Is Glamorgan Finally Back on England’s Cricketing Radar?
FOR more than two decades, Glamorgan supporters have waited to see one of their own walk out for England again.
Now, suddenly, there are signs that the road between Sophia Gardens and the international stage may be opening once more.
The latest evidence comes from Mason Crane, the Glamorgan leg-spinner recalled to England’s one-day squad for the tri-series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka later this month.
Crane has not played senior international cricket since his solitary Test appearance against Australia in Sydney in January 2018. He also made two T20 international appearances in 2017 and is still waiting for his ODI debut.
England national selector Marcus North said Crane had been performing consistently for Glamorgan and described him as an experienced, high-class leg-spinner who deserved another opportunity.
It is quite a comeback.
Crane joined Glamorgan initially on loan in 2024 before making the move permanent and has developed into one of the most important members of the Welsh county’s attack. Earlier this summer he was recalled to the England Lions, eight years after his previous international appearance, following an excellent start to Glamorgan’s return to Division One.
And he isn’t the only Glamorgan player attracting attention.
Asa Tribe may have an even greater chance of establishing himself in England colours in the years ahead.
The Jersey-born opening batter has already become a regular with the England Lions. He made an unbeaten 129 against Australia A during the winter and followed it with 135 against South Africa A at Arundel in May. England selectors clearly regard him as part of their emerging group of top-order candidates.
His international status is unusual.
Tribe made his senior international debut for Jersey, an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council, but is also eligible for England after satisfying the necessary residency requirements. Under the rules applying between Associate and Full Member nations, his appearances for Jersey have not prevented England from selecting him. A senior England appearance, however, would bring his Jersey international career to an end.
In other words, a man born and raised in Jersey could yet become the first player representing Glamorgan to establish himself in England’s senior side for more than 20 years.
Alongside him is Ben Kellaway, born in Newport and another product of the Glamorgan pathway.
Kellaway is particularly intriguing because of his ability to bat in the middle order while bowling spin with either arm. Both he and Tribe have already been identified as players capable of pushing towards senior England honours, with Kellaway’s unusual all-round skills potentially attractive to selectors.
There is plenty of Welsh talent elsewhere in the Glamorgan squad too.
Captain Kiran Carlson, born in Cardiff, enjoyed another impressive season after scoring a career-best 209 against Hampshire earlier in the year, while Newport-born wicketkeeper-batter Will Smale continues to develop. Teenager Tom Norton, from Abergavenny, announced himself spectacularly with a hat-trick on his first-class debut. Glamorgan director of cricket Mark Wallace has spoken enthusiastically about the strength of Welsh-born players emerging through the county’s system.
Then there is the rather curious case of Aneurin Donald.
Born in Swansea and developed by Glamorgan, Donald burst onto the county scene as a teenager before moving on to Hampshire and eventually Derbyshire. This September, aged 29, he finally received his England opportunity and made his T20 international debut against Sri Lanka.
So while Glamorgan cannot technically claim Donald as a current player selected for England, he is very much a product of Welsh cricket and the Glamorgan pathway.
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A Long Glamorgan Tradition
There was a time when seeing a Glamorgan player in an England cap was far from unusual.
Among the most celebrated was Tony Lewis, the Neath-born batter who captained both Glamorgan and England.
Matthew Maynard played Tests and one-day internationals for England, while fast bowler Steve Watkin joined him in the England side against Australia at The Oval in 1993 — the first occasion Glamorgan had supplied two players to the same England Test XI.
Robert Croft, born in Swansea, played 21 Tests and 50 ODIs for England and has spoken about the unusual sporting relationship between the two countries. Unlike football or rugby, there was no separate Welsh international team at Test level for him to aspire to; England represented the highest level available to a Welsh cricketer.
Fast bowler Greg Thomas, another Swansea product and a fluent Welsh speaker, represented England in five Tests and three ODIs during the 1980s.
And then came Simon Jones.
The Swansea-born fast bowler became one of the heroes of England’s unforgettable 2005 Ashes victory, taking 18 wickets before injury ruled him out of the final Test.
Until Crane’s latest call-up, Jones remained the last Glamorgan player to represent England while contracted to the county.
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What About Glamorgan Leg-Spinners?
Crane’s bowling style adds another intriguing historical dimension.
England leg-spinners have appeared for Glamorgan before, but usually after their international careers rather than because of performances for the Welsh county.
Robin Hobbs, for example, won seven England Test caps as a leg-spinner while playing for Essex before later joining Glamorgan and captaining the county in 1979.
That makes Crane’s position particularly unusual. If he makes his ODI debut this month, he will be representing England specifically on the back of performances produced as Glamorgan’s frontline leg-spinner rather than arriving in Wales as an established international.
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But Doesn’t Wales Have a Cricket Team?
Yes — although not in the way Wales has national teams in rugby or football.
Wales does not have a separate ICC Full Member side competing in Test cricket, ODIs or T20 internationals. Elite Welsh men’s players therefore qualify to play for England under the England and Wales Cricket Board structure.
There is, however, a Wales National County side.
Wales National County competes in the National Counties Cricket Association alongside 19 English National Counties, playing T20, 50-over and three-day cricket. It represents the highest level of the recreational game and has increasingly become a pathway into professional cricket.
Recent Wales National County players who have subsequently earned Glamorgan contracts include Ben Kellaway, Will Smale, Henry Hurle, Romano Franco, Tom Norton and others.
So there is a Wales cricket team — just not one presently competing against Australia, India or South Africa in the manner of the Welsh football and rugby teams.
For players such as Kellaway, Carlson or Smale, the international summit therefore remains England.
And that makes Mason Crane’s recall significant beyond the story of one player’s remarkable return.
Glamorgan’s last genuine England era produced names including Lewis, Maynard, Watkin, Croft and Jones.
Now Crane has reopened the door. Tribe appears to be standing immediately behind him, Kellaway is not far away, and an increasingly Welsh core is emerging at Sophia Gardens.
Perhaps the question is no longer simply when Glamorgan will produce another England player.
Perhaps it is how many might follow.
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DID EWE KNOW? Glamorgan legend Alan Jones played against the Rest of the World in 1970 in what was originally regarded as a Test match. When those matches later lost Test status, Jones lost his place in England’s official records. Fifty years later the ECB finally recognised his achievement by awarding him England Test cap number 696.