Glamorgan signal Mason Crane on mortgage, Mir Hamza for Championship
Mir Hamza, the Pakistan left-arm seamer, has signed to play for Glamorgan within the first half of the upcoming County Championship season. He might be joined in Cardiff by Mason Crane after Hampshire allowed the legspinner to hitch Glamorgan on a season-long mortgage.
Mark Wallace, Glamorgan’s director of cricket, hailed the arrival of Crane, describing the 27-year-old as “a high-quality player who gives us an attacking skill set in all formats”. Crane has performed a Test and two T20Is for England, most not too long ago in 2018, however struggled with harm. He was a Blast winner with Hampshire in 2022 however solely performed 14 instances for the membership final season.
“I’m very thankful for the opportunity at Glamorgan and incredibly excited to get to work and push towards a successful season with the team,” Crane mentioned.
Hampshire’s director of cricket, Giles White, mentioned the transfer would assist Crane’s improvement however that he could possibly be recalled if wanted. “Mason hasn’t had the game time here at Hampshire over the last couple of years and time with Glamorgan offers him the opportunity to play first XI cricket across the formats,” he mentioned.
“Having had many conversations with him, we both feel that this is the best for his career and the development of his game. The deal is structured in a way that allows his return if we need him later in the season.”
Hamza, 31, has been capped 5 instances in Tests, most not too long ago on Pakistan’s 2023-24 tour of Australia. He has taken 434 first-class wickets at a median of twenty-two.40, and beforehand represented Sussex and Warwickshire in county cricket.
“It’s excellent news that Mir has agreed to join us at the start of the season,” Wallace mentioned. “He’s an international bowler with a fine record and previous experience in county cricket. We’re looking forward to welcoming him to Cardiff.”
Hamza’s signing comes within the wake of Grant Bradburn’s appointment as head coach. Bradburn beforehand held plenty of roles on the PCB, together with assistant and head coach, earlier than becoming a member of up with Glamorgan final month.
Bradburn mentioned: “As coach, I am excited for our group to add such an experienced performer in Mir Hamza. Having worked with Mir previously in Pakistan, I have full confidence that Mir will add huge value to our team both on and off the field.”
Hamza, who had a brief stint at Warwickshire final yr and performed for Sussex in 2019, might be accessible for Glamorgan’s first seven Championship video games up till the top of May.
Hamza mentioned: “I am thrilled to be joining Glamorgan for the County Championship this summer. It will be exciting to work with Grant again after working with him with Pakistan, and I can’t wait to join up with the squad, get to training and help this great club push for a positive start to the season. I have heard many great things about Cardiff from my team-mates who played there last summer and look forward to meeting all of the supporters.”
The membership additionally introduced a dual-captaincy appointment for the summer season, with Sam Northeast taking the reins within the Championship and Kiran Carlson main in white ball. Northeast, now in his third season at Glamorgan, succeeds David Lloyd after the allrounder left to hitch Derbyshire.
Glamorgan completed fifth in Division Two within the 2023 Championship, drawing 12 of their 14 video games.