Matthew Maynard: Glamorgan have 'enormous potential'

Former Glamorgan coach and captain Matthew Maynard says there is "enormous potential," among the county's batsmen, after he re-joined as a consultant.

Maynard was previously Glamorgan head coach from 2008 to 2010.

He is contracted for 100 days a year for the next two years in the specialist batting role which he held in Duncan Fletcher's England set-up.

"The potential is enormous and it's part of my responsibility to help those players reach it," Maynard said.

The former England and Glamorgan batsman was in charge at Somerset from 2015 to 2017, having also worked with Nashua Titans in South Africa and St Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League and says he's relishing a return to a more specialised role.

"There's been a lot of pressure having the top job, so to come back as an assistant and help on the batting side is something I'm looking forward to, to channel my energy," he said.

"Over the years I've picked up quite a bit of knowledge at various places, so hopefully I'll be able to bring that to help the young players."

Glamorgan frequently fielded a youthful batting line-up in the Championship in 2017, with Nick Selman, Connor Brown, Aneurin Donald, Kiran Carlson, Jack Murphy and Owen Morgan all aged 22 or under.

They finished seventh in division two of the four-day game but reached T20 Blast Finals Day in the shorter format.

"It's outstanding for us, because we've identified we've got a group of exciting batters at senior level and we've got some talent coming through our pathway," said head coach Robert Croft of Maynard's appointment.

"It's important we give them a high level of support, Matthew's got a lot of knowledge technically and tactically around batting and we want to make sure that our players can tap into that."

Glamorgan batsman Aneurin Donald, capped by England at under-19 level, is one player particularly looking forward to Maynard's specialist input.

"I think the style he played really resonates with me personally, and it's an honour to have another Glammy legend back in Crofty's coaching staff," said Donald.

"Hopefully he can add to our white-ball [limited-overs] form and bring a trophy home, but also trying to improve on the red-ball [Championship] which was below-par last season."

Maynard, who scored a century on his Glamorgan debut as a 19-year old in 1985, hopes he can take Donald to the next level after working with him briefly as a teenager.

"His ability at that stage was quite frightening, you think 'this guy has got everything to go all the way', and he still has that abundance of talent," said Maynard.

"I've followed his progress and I have done with all the Glamorgan players, and hopefully to get those performances up a little bit would be great."

Donald, along with team-mates David Lloyd and Owen Morgan, will also spend time at an academy run by former South Africa batsman and India coach Gary Kirsten, in Cape Town, in early 2018.