Glamorgan and Durham will be going for glory at Trent Bridge on Thursday in the final of the 2021 Royal London Cup.

Glamorgan are eyeing their first silverware since the Sunday League way back in 2004, while Durham are targeting a first title since beating Warwickshire in this very competition in 2014.

The game, which is live on Sky Sports The Hundred from 12.30pm, was set up earlier in the week with Glamorgan beating Essex in their home semi-final in Cardiff on Monday before Durham saw off Surrey in theirs at Emirates Riverside 24 hours later.

Glamorgan vs Durham

August 19, 2021, 12:30pm

Live on

Both sides topped their respective tables during the league phase – Glamorgan finishing above Surrey and Yorkshire on net run-rate and Durham, who won six and lost just one of their seven completed matches, finishing two points clear of Essex.

Durham’s players to watch

Durham’s Graham Clark is the leading run-scorer in the tournament, with his three hundreds and one half-century propelling him to 606 runs in eight innings.

The Cumbrian – the brother of Surrey all-rounder Jordan – began the competition with a career-best 141 against Kent, before posting 140 against Gloucestershire a week later and then, in the final group game against Hampshire, 141 not out.

Almost time, who’s excited?🖐#ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/4bewWDmOks

Clark is in the form of his life but let’s not forget his opening partner Alex Lees, with whom he has shared two partnerships over 200 – against Kent and Gloucestershire – and three more over 50. It’s fair to say Glamorgan will be hoping for helpful bowling conditions early in Durham’s innings.

Lees (547 runs) has struck two tons – against Kent and Essex – and four fifties, placing him second on the run-scoring charts behind Clark, while David Bedingham (four fifties), captain Scott Borthwick (three fifties), and Luke Doneathy (two fifties) have also fired with the bat.

Bowling-wise, the evergreen Chris Rushworth leads the way for the county with 16 wickets, including three of Surrey’s top four for either single figures or a duck in Tuesday’s semi-final win. Backing him up have been Dutchman Paul van Meekeren (14 wickets) and Borthwick (nine).

Glamorgan’s players to watch

Only three players have topped Rushworth’s number of wickets in the Royal London Cup this term, with Glamorgan’s Joe Cooke among them.

Cooke’s tally of 18 – the same number as Essex’s Simon Harmer and Surrey’s Conor McKerr – was swelled by a maiden five-wicket haul on Tuesday as he limited Essex to 289 and then scored an unbeaten 66 to usher his side to victory.

Cooke’s fellow seamer Michael Hogan has bagged 15, with a best of 4-33 against Somerset, but what it also notable is his outstanding economy rate of less than three an over. Perhaps the 40-year-old can be the man to keep Clark and Lees quiet?

Hogan and spinner Andrew Salter are the only players remaining in the Glamorgan squad from their previous List A final – an 87-run loss to Nottinghamshire in the 2013 Yorkshire Bank 40 tournament.

As far as Glamorgan’s batsmen are concerned, while no one has managed the huge numbers of Clark and Lees, Nick Selman leads the way with 385, with a none-too-shabby return from Hamish Rutherford (293 runs) among the other contributions.

𝗢𝗙𝗙 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗚𝗘!

Que sera, que sera?

What an amazing day at Sophia Gardens 🥳

Take a look at some of the best photos of the day 📸#GLAMvESS | #GoGlam pic.twitter.com/ogFOKsLfTN

What are they saying?

Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson: “The boys are hungry to do well. Everyone is going to be thinking about the game, but I want us to go out there and enjoy it. We are excited

“We will do our best to win it and I’m so proud of the lads for getting to the final. We want to enjoy ourselves out there and the big-match atmosphere.”

Durham captain Scott Borthwick: “It’s a good sign that the two group winners will play in the final. A Thursday final at Trent Bridge will be a bit different.

“It’s almost like an FA Cup final not being played at Wembley. Lord’s finals are special, but Trent Bridge is an amazing ground and it’s going to be an exciting occasion.”

Watch the Royal London Cup Final between Glamorgan and Durham, live on Sky Sports The Hundred from 12.30pm on Thursday.

Source: Read Full Article