It was a Canterbury Tale like no other as in the closing match of the 1993 season, Glamorgan won the Sunday League title as they defeated Kent at Canterbury in the final match of the summer. Since mid-August, the two counties had been locked in a dog-fight at the top of the table, and by a quirk of fate, the final round of games on 19 September saw the two teams go head-to-head at Canterbury in a contest which would decide the outcome of the title. Click here to read more about how Glamorgan won their first piece of one-day silverware.
The flow of champagne in the Glamorgan changing rooms at Canterbury was also a fitting end to the glittering career of Viv Richards and, as the great West Indian sobbed and hugged his colleagues and Club officials, the plaudits helped to erase any lingering disappointment he still felt at missing out on a Lord’s Final following the three-wicket defeat to Sussex in the semi-final of the NatWest Trophy at Hove.
It had been a game that was seemingly there for Glamorgan’s taking after another batting masterclass from Matthew Maynard had left Sussex needing 221. They had stumbled to 110-6 after 44 overs before, in these days without TV replays being used by the umpires, Neil Lenham survived an appeal for run-out before turning the game around with Alan Wells, with the pair taking 25 runs from Richards’ three overs before Wells completed an unbeaten hundred to see his side home and break Welsh hearts.
1993 had also seen Glamorgan enjoy a resurgence in Championship cricket, with Hugh Morris’ team ending up in third place – their best position since being runners-up in 1970 – and recording nine wins. Their success was based on imaginative leadership and meticulous planning, with regular team discussions laying the foundations for a squad that was largely unchanged from the one which had underperformed the previous summer.
The only new face in the line-up was all-rounder Roland Lefebvre whose acquisition from Somerset proved to be a masterstroke as the Welsh county acquired the services of a highly skilled opening bowler in one-day cricket. Week after week, the Dutch seamer bowled a full and nagging length to frustrate and contain a host of opposition batsmen. Few opponents managed to get on top of him, with his accuracy with the ball being a key ingredient behind the title-winning campaign as well as their progression in the Nat West Trophy with Lefebvre returning the astonishing figures of 11-5-13-2 in their rain-affected quarter-final against Worcestershire at Swansea.
Opposite – Roland Lefebvre in bowling action at Colwyn Bay. Photo Credit – Glamorgan Cricket Archives.
It followed a gutsy innings by Steve James who overcame the discomfort of a cracked thumb to make 68 before Maynard made a rollicking 84 from 65 balls to guide Glamorgan to 279-9. With 23 overs remaining before the close, Lefebvre immediately put the brakes on the visitors run-chase, conceding just four runs in his eight-over salvo besides bowling Tim Curtis. Worcestershire’s hopes were dealt another blow in the third over next morning as Lefevbre caught Graeme Hick and by the time the Dutchman had Stuart Lampitt caught behind by Colin Metson, Glamorgan were on course for their first semi-final in the competition since 1977.
Click here to read more about the 1993 season.