Under new captain Matthew Maynard, Glamorgan rose up to 10th place in the Championship during 1996, winning six matches. It could easily have been eight wins and a place closer to the top of the table had it not been for rain to thwart their attempts at beating Gloucestershire at Bristol, whilst some tail-end resistance at Southampton saw Glamorgan end the contest two wickets away from beating Hampshire. Nevertheless, it was a highly creditable achievement given that David Hemp was injured in a nasty fielding accident at Cambridge, Adrian Dale broke a finger and both Robert Croft and Matthew Maynard were absent on England duty, with Glamorgan often having a less experienced middle-order.
Amongst the highlights during the season were hundreds by Tony Cottey and Steve James, plus 6/78 by Croft as the Welsh county defeated Somerset at Swansea, whilst a superb 214 by Maynard, plus 5/47 from Croft saw Glamorgan to a 48-run victory in a game where teenage left-arm spinner Dean Cosker also made a promising debut as his side clinched victory at Sophia Gardens with just fifteen minutes play remaining. Another handsome victory came at Worksop where James played a marathon innings, amassing 235 in eight and a quarter hours to lay the foundation for an eight-wicket victory.
Amongst the highlights during the season were hundreds by Tony Cottey and Steve James, plus 6/78 by Croft as the Welsh county comprehensively defeated Somerset at Swansea, whilst a superb 214 by Maynard, plus 5/47 from Croft saw Glamorgan to a 48-run victory in a game where teenage left-arm spinner Dean Cosker also made a promising debut as his side clinched victory at Sophia Gardens with just fifteen minutes play remaining. Another handsome victory came at Worksop where James played a marathon innings, amassing 235 in eight and a quarter hours to lay the foundation for an eight-wicket victory.
As far as one-day games were concerned, the batting was less consistent in the shorter form, and a series of defeats highlighted the lack of runs from the lower order, especially the quarter-final tie with Warwickshire in the Benson and Hedges Cup where Glamorgan dramatically lost their last five wickets for eleven runs in the space of 23 balls. Remedial action was swiftly taken by the Glamorgan management with Adrian Shaw, a more competent batter than Colin Metson, taking over behind the stumps in the Sunday League.
Glamorgan also solely missed the accurate new ball bowling of Roland Lefebvre, who had retired through injury, but there was a glimmer of optimism for the new attack as Glamorgan topped their group in the Benson and Hedges Cup. A fine all-round performance by Darren Thomas powered them to victory over Essex, before centuries from Steve James and Matthew Maynard saw Glamorgan defeat the British Universities by eight wickets at Fenner’s. After losing on a slower run rate to Somerset at Sophia Gardens, a superb 151* from 119 balls by Maynard saw Glamorgan return to winning ways at Lord’s as Middlesex were defeated by six wickets with the visiting captain celebrating by pulling one of his five huge sixes into the top tier of the Grandstand.
The final group game at Canterbury saw Glamorgan clinch victory and top spot in the group thanks to a brilliant 136* from Morris. Needing to win inside 38.4 overs to have a superior run rate, the left-hander mauled the Kent bowling, striking 21 fours and a six, with his 68-ball century seeing the visitors cruise to their target in the 33rd over. It seemed like a case of deja vu as Warwickshire visited Sophia Gardens for the quarter-final, with Glamorgan eager to atone for their defeat the previous year.
Chasing a target of 240, some probing seam bowling by Dermot Reeve saw Glamorgan nosedive to 80-5 before Welsh hopes were raised by a stand of 136 in 22 overs between Maynard and Gibson. The pair had taken Glamorgan to within 24 runs of their target when, with five overs remaining, Shaun Pollock dismissed Gibson. Gladstone Small then took two wickets in an over, including that of Maynard, before Dougie Brown removed Colin Metson and Steve Barwick in consecutive balls as Glamorgan lost by 12 runs.
Shortly after the defeat, Gibson underwent surgery for a hernia which had affected him during the first couple of months of the summer and had prevented him from bowling flat out. In his absence, Glamorgan’s bowling attack relied on the willing workhorses of Watkin and Croft, who combined delivered 1,508 overs and shared 139 wickets, with the latter often playing the role of stock bowler. His reward though came at The Oval where he became Glamorgan’s 14th Test cricketer as he made his England debut against Pakistan. Whilst the off-spinner was in the ascendancy, it was a different story with Steve Barwick’s off-cutters. With opponents having found ways of mastering his wiles, he was released from the staff at the end of the season, David Hemp also left Glamorgan after agreeing terms with Warwickshire.