Glamorgan relishing Labuschagne's two-game return

Glamorgan are relishing the prospect of Australian Test star Marnus Labuschagne arriving for two Championship games, in his sixth season with the county.

"It'll be good to have him involved, he knows the players, he brings energy and quality so it's great to have him back into the squad," said coach Richard Dawson.

"I've come up against him and met him a couple of times so I'm looking forward to working with him."

Labuschagne will be able to acclimatise to British conditions prior to Australia's World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's in June.

The South African-born batter has played some part in every year since his 2019 debut, apart from the Covid-hit season on 2020, although it is his briefest visit yet because of international commitments and recent paternity leave.

Labuschagne reached number one status in the world ranking of Test batters at one stage after his first Glamorgan trip as he became a Test regular in the 2019 Ashes series and beyond.

Both his games in this month's brief return are at Sophia Gardens, facing Northants on Friday, 16 May and Middlesex the following week, with South African batter Colin Ingram, 39, rested before the T20 Blast despite his continuing strong performances.

"Col's in great form but the lads are excited and the club's excited to get Marnus in, he'll be hungry for runs and bring something different to the changing room," explained Dawson.

Timm van der Gugten, who has played alongside Labuschagne since his Glamorgan debut, revealed he had already been in contact during their win at Kent.

"He'll bring another energy with him. He's already been on FaceTime and he arrives in the morning [Monday], so he's keen to get involved like he always is and it'll be nice to have him around the group," van der Gugten told BBC Sport Wales.

Labuschagne is best known for his batting ability but has also bowled seam, leg-spin and off-spin during his time with Glamorgan.

Sri Lankan paceman Asitha Fernando, who took three wickets in the second innings of the victory at Canterbury, has two red-ball games left on his contract while Glamorgan are yet to announce plans for a bowling recruit for the T20 Blast, with batter Ingram set to return for the opener against Middlesex at Northwood on Sunday, 1 June.