After making history as captain of Glamorgan's drought-breaking Royal London One-Day Cup winners last summer, Kiran Carlson is aiming to bring more success to the club, writes Dafydd Jones.

The 24-year-old batsman will be a key figure when the Welsh county get their Vitality Blast campaign under way at Sussex Sharks tomorrow evening.

It was Carlson who played the match-winning innings in the heat of last year's final, holding his nerve expertly with stellar knock of 82 from 59 balls, as the Welsh County won its first knockout trophy for 58 years.

"I remember the excitement, elation, happiness, all of those. It was a bit of a whirlwind," he said.

"When Hoges (Michael Hogan) got that last wicket, everyone just ran around, we didn't know what we were doing, but watching it back, I still get goosebumps watching it now.

"I'm hugely proud of that achievement. It was a great team effort and to bring a trophy back to Wales was a great effort from everyone.

"It was one of those things that we just went out to enjoy it, went with the flow and ended up winning it. Looking back at it, it's something I'll always cherish."

 

Glamorgans Kiran Carlson batting during the Royal London One-Day Cup Final at Trent Bridge

Glamorgan's Kiran Carlson batting during the Royal London One-Day Cup Final at Trent Bridge

 

Carlson and Glamorgan's attention now turns to the Vitality Blast, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this summer.

Success has so far eluded the club – reaching Finals Day twice - but this year they boast some serious star quality under the leadership of David Lloyd and the likes of Marnus Labuschagne and Colin Ingram to complement local talent such as Carlson.

"I'm really excited. It's a competition that we haven't performed well in over the last few years," Carlson said.

"Everyone's itching to put that right because we know that we're a good T20 team.

"As a group, we're pretty confident in all formats. We know the formula to win games, so it's just about relaxing, enjoying it and treating every game as a separate game, trying to play the best cricket we can on the day.

"At times, in the past, we've overcomplicated things and boys have maybe been a bit rigid, we've not expressed ourselves in the way that we wanted, so we're going to go out this year with a free mind and hopefully win some games.

"Obviously, it would be a massive achievement to hold both trophies at the same time. Winning two trophies would be huge for us, but that's a long way away. It's important that we treat every game separately, express ourselves and hopefully we can have a positive campaign."