WILL Bragg gave Glamorgan a boost by making an impressive return to the middle in Newport yesterday, writes Chris Kirwan.

The left-hander has missed the start of the Specsavers County Championship season after suffering a back problem in pre-season.

The 30-year-old from Cwmbran returned to action for the county’s seconds in their three-day clash with Gloucestershire that started at Spytty Park yesterday.

Bragg, who racked up 1,126 first-class runs and a career best 161 not out in 2016, came in at number three and scored 93 from 116 balls, an innings that featured 13 fours.

He put on 144 for the second wicket with opener Owen Morgan, who went into three figures.

Glamorgan lost to Northamptonshire and Worcestershire in Division Two before drawing with Leicestershire on Monday.

They start their white-ball campaign today when they clash with Gloucestershire in the Royal London One Day Cup in Bristol.

Head coach Robert Croft has included the 2016 player of the year Timm van der Gugten in his 13-man squad after the Dutch seamer proved his fitness in a one-day clash with Gloucester in Newport on Tuesday.

Van der Gugten injured his shoulder playing for the Netherlands in February and recorded figures of 3 for 33 in a comfortable home win.

Batsman Kiran Carlson struck 139 in that clash and is rewarded with a place in the squad for the revamped tournament.

“Playing in one block format means we will be able to keep our focus on one competition at a time and I always speak about momentum,” said captain Jacques Rudolph.

“Last year we started very well in the competition and recorded a couple of big wins but we couldn’t keep the momentum in the second lot of fixtures and fell away.”

“The guys are excited about playing white ball cricket and to hit the ground running and its generally a format we pride ourselves in.”

Glamorgan host Surrey in Cardiff on Sunday before travelling to Sussex on Tuesday.

Glamorgan: J Rudolph (captain), D Lloyd, C Ingram, C Cooke (wicket-keeper), A Donald, K Carlson, C Meschede, O Morgan, A Salter, M de Lange, T van der Gugten, M Hogan, L Carey.