Robert Croft looks ahead to a Summer of Cricket with the ICC Champions Trophy starting in Cardiff on 6 June.
"The ICC Champions Trophy fixtures in Cardiff are very exciting for everyone here at the Club and in Wales.
It's a great opportunity for us in Wales. It's a great opportunity for some of the players, spectators and coaches.
You think about the guys who have had major influence at Glamorgan Cricket, who have helped raised the game of others…Viv Richards, Waqar Younis, Michael Kasprowicz …they raised the standards, they helped players realise what it takes to be the best. Not just to be run of the mill but to be on the world's stage. Hopefully there will be the opportunity for our boys to practice against even better players and raise their own game.
Coaches as well, coming here, they are always looking for new ideas, what to take back to their clubs. Come and see how these players practice, come and see how they warm up, come and look at the intensity of the play. It's not a case of stand at third man, kick a bit of grass…it's about how you stay in the game, so the messages that come out of the game and the experience.
It isn't about watching and who wins the game, it's about how they play, how they practice and their attitude to playing top level sport…so there are a lot of messages for people who watch the game, coaches, parents and people generally who just want a good day out.
Top level cricket is very intense. We are not talking about people 50 or 60 years ago - all these guys are trained athletes now. Ok they might not be able to run like premiership footballer for 90 minutes or take the collision that the rugby players deal with but I tell you this much the footballers and rugby players would not be able to hang out their for 6 1/2 hours totally focused, totally concentrated.
They are very fit for purpose and we have a saying in cricket and its not just for Glamorgan its everywhere: if you're not in the game, get in the game. There is no time to switch off you are always on the move, every run is crucial, statisticians are in the game now and they will always highlight the areas where we could have been better, so you better make sure you're not that person who has been highlighted on a Monday morning after playing a match on Saturday.
So that's where it's gone now, this is very focused cricket, you'll see moments of cricket, I believe in this tournament that have never been seen before…you'll see brilliance, high skill that you would have never seen before because the game is forever improving and progressing and what better way than having a day out in Cardiff and it's easy to get here there's no excuse, M4, train station, airport - the whole lot, you can get here easy.
