1999 was a momentous year off the field for Glamorgan as for the first time in their history, and under the watchful eye of coach Duncan Fletcher who had returned for 1999 the Welsh county’s players prepared in their own indoor centre at the Cardiff ground, and with a Centre Manager having been appointed from January 1999, it was not long before a host of coaching programmes – in conjunction with the newly-formed Cricket Board of Wales – began for cricketers of all ages, sexes and backgrounds, as the new complex at Sophia Gardens became a Centre of Excellence for Welsh cricket.
The Welsh county were also delighted to host the Australians ahead of their defence of their ICC Cup World title. Following their arrival in April, they took part in a series of warm-up activities at Sophia Gardens plus a series of special events including a coaching session for talented players from Cardiff and the Vale, as well as a grand dinner, which gave Glamorgan the opportunity to say thank you to all of their financial supporters inside the new National Cricket Centre.
Opposite – Shane Warne taking part in a coaching clinic at Sophia Gardens in 1999. Photo Credit – Glamorgan Cricket Archives.
Their programme also included a one-day match with Glamorgan and with temporary grandstands ringing the boundary, a massive crowd was expected. However, only ten overs were possible before the heavens opened, leaving the umpires the formality of abandoning the match at 2.15 p.m. Fortunately, the weather was set fair two weeks later when the Sophia Gardens ground, and it’s impressive new facilities, hosted the World Cup group match between Australia and New Zealand.
Their programme also included a one-day match with Glamorgan and with temporary grandstands ringing the boundary, a massive crowd was expected. However, only ten overs were possible before the heavens opened, leaving the umpires the formality of abandoning the match at 2.15 p.m. Fortunately, the weather was set fair two weeks later when the Sophia Gardens ground, and it’s impressive new facilities, hosted the World Cup group match between Australia and New Zealand.
It was the first-ever One-Day International in the Welsh capital, and saw the Kiwi’s turn the form book upside down as they defeated Australia by five wickets. Only Darren Lehmann and Ricky Ponting looked at ease against a vibrant New Zealand attack for whom Geoff Allott took four wickets to keep the competition favourites in check. Chasing a target of 214 in their 50 overs, New Zealand slipped to 49/4, before Roger Twose and Chris Cairns turned the game on its head with a fifth wicket stand of 148 to see the Black caps to a comfortable win, with Twose winning the Man-of-the-Match Award for his forthright and unbeaten 80.
Opposite – the cover of the match programme for the inaugural ODI at Cardiff. Image Credit – Glamorgan Cricket Archives.
As far as matters were concerned on the field for Glamorgan CCC, 1999 proved to be another summer of unfulfilled promise as they dropped two places in the Championship table, ended fourth in the second division of the newly-instigated National One-Day League and lost yet another quarter-final at home in the NatWest Trophy. Despite using their coach’s influence to recruit Jacques Kallis, the talented South African all-rounder, Glamorgan lost by 136 runs to a vibrant and well-drilled Gloucestershire side for whom Mike Smith, their clever new-ball bowler, removed both Kallis and Maynard as Glamorgan, chasing a target of 275 on a green-tinged surface, nosedived to 36-4 before ending on 138, four runs short of the visitor’s opening stand after Kim Barnett and Tim Hancock had feasted on the home bowlers after being put in to bat.
Once again, Glamorgan were affected by a series of injuries with Matthew Maynard missing seven weeks early in the season with a broken finger, whilst Kallis’ arrival was delayed until late July by a stomach ailment. He quickly made up for lost time by scoring 158 on his debut against Surrey in their National League match at Pontypridd, before helping Glamorgan win three out of their seven remaining Championship games, including their first-ever win in the competition at Headingley as they beat Yorkshire by an innings and 52 runs.
The White Rose county never recovered from a dazzling hundred by Maynard who after being dropped in the slips, struck 186 in a five hour innings which ended in bizarre fashion as he trod on his wicket trying to pull Chris Silverwood as Yorkshire took the new ball. Steve Watkin and Owen Parkin then exploited the pitch as Yorkshire were forced to follow-on before subsiding for a second time.
Three weeks later, Steve James grabbed the headlines again at his favoured Colwyn Bay with the opener posting the highest post-War score and third best overall as he made an unbeaten 259 during a 719-minute stay at the crease, during which he faced 546 balls from the Nottinghamshire attack and helped Glamorgan to a monumental total of 648-4 declared, with Kallis and Powell also reaching three figures. James’ skilful batting had followed a dramatic start to the game as the visitors subsided to 9-6 inside six overs with Watkin taking five wickets without conceding a run in the space of 16 balls. Usman Afzaal and Alex Wharf helped the East Midland side recover, but facing a deficit of 420, it was only a matter of time before Glamorgan secured an innings victory with Robert Croft claiming 5/60 and, together with a return of 7/70 against Durham, showing that he had rediscovered the loop and drift which had been such a useful tool in his armoury earlier in his career.
There were though still a few other issues to be resolved, notably behind the stumps as Adrian Shaw and Ismail Dawood competed for the wicket-keeping place for the bulk of the season before, in early September, an opportunity was given to seventeen year-old Mark Wallace who became the Club`s youngest-ever wicket-keeper as he made his debut against Somerset at Taunton. 1999 also proved to be Duncan Fletcher’s final year with the Welsh county. Having returned following agreement on a new three-year contract, he was appointed England’s coach in June with his possible replacements including Hansie Cronje and former Australian captain Greg Chappell. But shortly before Christmas, it Jeff Hammond, whose short career as a fast bowler in Test cricket with Australia during the early 1970s had been curtailed by injury, would be the new coach.
