Glamorgan's annus horribilis was completed on Monday night when Somerset won the MCC Spirit of Cricket Award at London's Albert Hall.

For the first four years of its existence Glamorgan won that award but this year they were not even close to claiming it.

Losing can do that to a team. It is not always easy to maintain a happy front when things are not going well. Doubtless, the championship match against Gloucestershire in May contributed much to Glamorgan's drop in marks from the umpires.

That was the match in which the visitors' fast bowler Steve Kirby was found guilty of ball-tampering in the car park but it was also an encounter which umpire John Hampshire considered one of the most rancorous he had ever officiated. It was even worse than India versus Pakistan, he said. It must have been bad.

Coincidentally the season ended last Sunday with a National League match between the teams at Bristol.

There did not seem to be any lingering animosity. In fact, it was an emotional occasion as umpire David Shepherd bade farewell to the professional game he has served with such grace and humour over the years.

Everybody wanted one last glimpse of his famous hop, skip and jump when the score reached 'Nelson' (111). Unfortunately that did not occur during Glamorgan's innings but thankfully it did during Gloucestershire's and no greater cheer have you heard all season.

It was a curious match. Gloucestershire had a minute chance of staying in Division One if they won, but only if other results also went their way. For Glamorgan there was a distinct end-of-term feel, manifestly so in their upper order batting which ranged from carefree to careless.

It was left to David Hemp yet again to rescue matters; his 84 not out off 84 balls was his highest score in the competition. Interestingly his one-day career average is only 26.95 which is low for one of his calibre, especially as he is renowned for being a free-scoring stroke maker.

It may be because he has spent too much of his career batting too low in one-day cricket, especially when he was at Warwickshire. That is something Mark Wallace has also been doing of late. Number eight is too low for a player of his skill and improvisation, as was shown in a rollicking partnership of 83 with Hemp last Sunday.

The running between the wickets of that pair was superb, in stark contrast to the rest of the running on show from both sides.

That is a facet of the game Glamorgan's youngsters especially need to work on. Their fitness too. Too many of them are looking overweight and cumbersome.

Glamorgan introduced twelve-month contracts last year and they need to ensure that the winter schedules are organised properly so that there is no excuse for some of the youngsters not being fit come April. Glamorgan have always had a reputation for being a fit, hard-training side; this is not a time to be losing that.

A glance at the first class averages this week did not make Glamorgan's season look any prettier. In the batting Matthew Elliott was actually in 19th place with his 746 runs at an average of 53.28 in seven matches.

Hemp was down at 51st but his 1369 runs at 44.16, with three hundreds and eight fifties, were a most impressive effort while all around him faltered.

The bowling list proved most damning. Glamorgan did have a bowler at 23rd, but that was Simon Jones and only ten of his 33 wickets at an average of 24.48 came for Glamorgan. In the top 100 bowlers in the country in 2005 Glamorgan only had one more representative, down at 61st place, and that was 18-year-old Huw Waters. Well, he was 18 when he took his eleven wickets at 30.18 in his seven matches. He is 19 now; belated happy returns for last Monday.

Well done to him and good luck to him on his England Under-19s tour to Bangladesh this winter.

The awful first class figures of the other bowlers - I will spare them the embarrassment of listing them here - only go to prove what a ridiculous oversight it was by the club not to sign a second overseas player at the start of the season. Hopefully that will be rectified for 2006, although it concerns me that Mike Kasprowicz has still not put pen to paper. Middlesex are strong favourites to capture him should Glamorgan not be able to agree terms.

He might have had a rather ropey Ashes series but he is still a quality fast bowler. I hope Glamorgan are not being swayed by what happened in the international arena this summer. That is a very different ball-game.

Glamorgan, within reason, should give Kasprowicz what he wants. If he wants a two-year contract, which is what I believe Middlesex are offering, then Glamorgan should give it to him. We do not want another farce developing.