Mike O’Shea made his first-class debut for Glamorgan against Bangladesh A at Abergavenny in 2005 at the age of 17 years and 325 days. He also made his Championship debut later in 2005, before playing the following winter for England U19 against Bangladesh, and a bright future was being predicted for the Cardiff-born cricketer.
However, for the next three seasons, the top-order batsman and off-spinner played occasionally for the 1st XI in both formats. In 2009 he posted his maiden Championship fifty against Kent at Canterbury in 2009, whilst two years before during the Friends Provident Trophy match with the Hampshire Hawks at Swansea in 2007 he had dismissed Kevin Pietersen with his off-spin.
However, with Robert Croft still the principle off-spinner and Jamie Dalrymple having joined the Club and taken over the captaincy, Mike was unable to secure a regular berth in the starting line-up during 2009 and the 22 year-old was released at the end of the season. Mike subsequently appeared for the Unicorns in 2010 for whom he struck a career-best 90 against Worcestershire in the CB40 match at Kidderminster and, as a result of some other useful performances in one-day matches in 2010, he re-joined the Welsh county in 2011.
Mike subsequently appeared in Glamorgan’s one-day side during the second half of 2011, as well as again being a regular wicket-taker in 2nd XI cricket. But Mike only appeared in a single List A match in 2012 and was again released from the county’s staff.
O’SHEA, Michael Peter
Born – Cardiff, 4th September 1987.
Best performances for Glamorgan:
In first-class cricket – 50 v Kent at Canterbury, 2009.
In List A cricket – 49 v Durham at Chester-le-Street, 2007 and v Lancashire at The SSE SWALEC, 2009; 2/32 v Somerset at The SSE SWALEC, 2011.
In T20 cricket – 11 v Essex at Chelmsford, 2011; 1/25 v Sussex at Hove, 2011.
| M | I | NO | RUNS | AV | 100 | 50 | CT | ST | |
| First-class | 6 | 9 | 0 | 137 | 15.22 | – | 1 | 1 | – |
| List A | 19 | 17 | 2 | 204 | 13.60 | – | – | 5 | – |
| T20 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 7.67 | – | – | – | – |
| Overs | M | R | W | AV | 5wI | 10wM | |
| List A | 402 | 0 | 400 | 9 | 44.44 | – | – |
| T20 | 48 | 0 | 50 | 1 | 50.00 | – | – |