Overseas Player Announcement Due

Kasper
By Edward Hall
March 20 2002

A lot of things can change in one month. In 30 days from now, the cricket season will be under away, we will all be settling into the start of another British summer, and with any luck, Glamorgan will have an overseas player.

It now seems certain, that after months of a cold winter, we will get an announcement on a new overseas player this Friday. Michael Kasprowicz will almost certainly be announced as the third Australian overseas player in three seasons for Glamorgan. It will see the end of a frustrating time for supporters and backroom staff alike. There seem to have been so many possibilities, with new names still creeping into the picture now. While other counties are on their second shopping trip for of the winter, Glamorgan are still struggling out of the supermarket for the first time. Nottinghamshire have secured the services of Lance Klusener, Chris Cairns and are now trying to persuade Nathan Astle to sign for them in case of injury to Cairns. Yorkshire, as well as having one of the best county batsmen in Darrenn Lehman, have also confirmed the signing of Simon Katich for the first few weeks of the season. Compare that to Glamorgan’s situation. Shoaib Akhtar, Damien Fleming, Wasim Akram, Chris Cairns and Jacques Kallis are just some of the names that have been considered for the post, yet not one of these has been confirmed. The conditions for signing them, in each case, have all been slightly flawed, and that is why Michael Kasprowicz has been picked above them.

Kasprowicz is a steady Australian bowler. While he is not bursting into the national 1st XI, he is one of many cricketers from Down Under who most British cricket fans have heard of. Most will remember him for his exploits against England in 1997, and he was still involved with the Australia team just over a year ago. His consistency will be his major asset, as the current Glamorgan attack tries to find a new look after the retirement of Steve Watkin.

If the promised announcement is made on Friday, Kasprowicz is almost certain to miss the pre-season tour to South Africa, and will have only a week or so to prepare before the opening Championship game against Derbyshire. Kasprowicz is going to be a key player for Glamorgan this season, and we all hope that after months of trying to find him, our overseas player provides us with months and months of decent service with the ball.