Glamorgan County Cricket Club

Cricket probably reached Wales and Glamorgan by the end of the 17th century. The earliest known reference to cricket in Glamorgan is a match at Swansea in 1780.

The formation of Glamorgan CCC took place on 6 July 1888 at a meeting in the Angel Hotel, Cardiff.

The club competed in the Minor Counties Championship for many years and then applied for first-class status after the First World War.

Glamorgan CCC played its initial first-class match versus Sussex CCC at Cardiff Arms Park on 18–20 May 1921 and thus increased the County Championship to 17 teams. Captained by N.V.H. Riches, Glamorgan won this first match by 23 runs. Only one more victory was achieved that summer; Glamorgan lost 14 games and finished with the wooden spoon.

Glamorgan won the county championship in 1948 under the captaincy of Wilf Wooller, whose advocacy of high fielding standards was the key to beating stronger batting and bowling teams.

Glamorgan was the unintentional venue for a piece of cricket history on 31 August 1968 when, during Glamorgan v Notts at Swansea, Gary Sobers hit all six balls in an over from Malcolm Nash for six.

Glamorgan won the championship again under Tony Lewis in 1969 and Matthew Maynard in 1997. Lewis is the only Glamorgan player to captain England in Tests, when he became the first Glamorgan cricketer to lead an England tour abroad to play series against India and Pakistan in 1972–73. Maynard, who retired at the end of the 2005 season, was one of the most successful batsmen in first class cricket over the previous 20 years. The 2005 captain, off spinner Robert Croft, proved effective on England tours, and was a useful pinch hitter in List A one-day games.

The club had plans in April 2006 to extend its grounds in the Grade 2 Listed Heritage Park that is Sophia Gardens, with a 17,500 seat super-stadium.

Sophia Gardens became a Test cricket venue in 2009 when the First Test in the Ashes series against Australia was held there.

Team totals

• Highest total for: 718/3d v. Sussex, Colwyn Bay, 2000
• Highest total against: 750 by Northamptonshire, Cardiff, 2019
• Lowest total for: 22 v. Lancashire, Liverpool, 1924
• Lowest total against: 33 by Leicestershire, Ebbw Vale, 1965

Batting

• Highest score: 309* S. P. James, Colwyn Bay, 2000

Best partnership for each wicket

Bowling

• Best bowling: 10/51 J. Mercer v. Worcestershire, Worcester, 1936
• Best match bowling: 17/212 J. C. Clay v. Worcestershire, Swansea, 1937

• List of Glamorgan CCC players
• List of Glamorgan cricket captains

• H S Altham, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1962
• Derek Birley, A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999
• Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
• Roy Webber, The Playfair Book of Cricket Records, Playfair Books, 1951
• Playfair Cricket Annual – various editions
• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – various editions

• Official website