Glamorgan taking a leap in the dark

I woke this morning to the news on Radio Wales that the Glamorgan committee had sacked Jamie Dalrymple as captain and, without consulting Matthew Maynard, the county's director of cricket, had appointed the untried Alviro Petersen as Dalrymple's replacement. (It would have been courteous to members, by the way, for the committee to notify those of us on email directly, rather than telling the media first.)  The logic, apparently, is that, at the start of the 2010 season, the committee set Maynard and Dalrymple the target of winning a one-day trophy which, after a promising start, the county failed to do. For me, the advance (the county was very unlucky not to gain promotion) in the two-innings game, proper cricket and the base for our Test teams, was ample compensation and Dalrymple should have been allowed to remain in place for the remaining year of his contract. Surely what was needed was not a new captain, but finding an additional good containing bowler.

One wonders what rôle the president, Peter Walker, with his South African connections, played in this decision. Presumably he will be issuing a statement in due course, which will be read with interest. His election was supposed to have ushered in an era of increased transparency, connection with the members and erasing the old fault lines which have prevented the county maintaining a place at the top level of English & Welsh cricket.

There have been some sudden changes of direction and strange appointments as captain in the past. At least, unlike Robin Hobbs and Tolly Burnett, Petersen's best days as a player are ahead of, rather than behind, him. Let us hope that he fulfils the promise as a county captain that the committee sees in him - and that there is not another mass exodus of talent from the county.