Dave Harrison’s Glamorgan diary

With all our preparation complete it was Sussex who were to visit the Swalec Stadium for the first game of the 2010 season.

Unfortunately for myself I had picked up a slight thigh strain the week before during a practice match against Somerset and was to miss the first game.

It felt like the end of the world after really pushing myself during pre-season to start the year on a high. The disappointment was to be short lived.

Sussex travelled down to Cardiff after being relegated from Division One with a very strong side having won the County Championship in 2003, 2006 and 2008. They also added Monty Panesar to their already strong squad.

It was the first time Monty had been back to the Swalec Stadium since saving the first Ashes test with Jimmy Anderson last year. It was to be the bowlers who prospered on an unusually seaming pitch at Cardiff.

Our England hopeful James Harris bowled beautifully and enhanced his already growing reputation with his eight wickets in the game.

With two international seam bowlers in Corey Collymore and Luke Wright in the team and Panesar for back up Sussex proved too strong for our inexperienced line up and to lose the opening match was a sickener for all the boys.

Last week was our first away game of the season and what a place to start. I have been lucky enough to have already played six times at Lords in my career.

The ground is steeped in history and you can almost sense the aura of the place when you walk through the famous gates.

I suppose it’s the equivalent of a footballer playing at Wembley or a rugby player gracing the turf at the Millennium Stadium.

It was to be my first game of the season and I couldn’t have asked for a better start. It turned out to be a helpful pitch to bowl on which eased my nerves slightly.

We made a very hardworking and gutsy score of 315 in our first innings which put us in a strong position.

The first game is always the most nerve racking but it was made worse by the England captain (Andrew Strauss) being at the other end. I started well picking up an early wicket which calmed the nerves a little. To finish with five wickets in the innings was a special moment for me.

It was my first five wicket haul in five years and being at Lords made it even more special.

When I arrived at Lords I was greeted by a large cardboard package full of new cricket and training kit for the new season sent from my sponsor.

Along with the kit I was given a brand spanking new Glamorgan cricket helmet. I though this helmet might to come in handy with England’s new pace bowler Steven Finn playing for Middlesex. Unfortunately this helmet was to have a particularly short life. Our Australian overseas player Mark Cosgrove who has been brought up on fast bouncy pitches in Australia asked if he could borrow my brand new helmet, I reluctantly agreed.

Mr Finn then proceeded to bowl at the speed of light and hit Cosgrove flush on the temple! End of helmet and end of Mr Cosgrove’s innings! He came from the field a bit worse for wear and proceeded to spend much of the next hour being ill, but we were not sure if it was the blow on the head or the fact he had three courses for lunch...

I was really impressed the way Steven Finn bowled during the game and I expect him to play a big part in the coming summer for England.

We’re taking on Derbyshire this week and I’m fully expecting a really tough game.

They are not a side with superstars in but a very hard working gritty unit that always make life hard for you. A good win this week will represent a good start to the season and give us more confidence leading up to a busy few weeks on the road.

Sunday will see the start of the Clydesdale Bank 40 over competition at the Swalec Stadium and the visit of Somerset.

This is a competition we have targeted this year for success and its important we get a good start against a strong Somerset side.

The boys in the dressing room are also chirping about the Dragons v Blues game! I of course am supporting the Dragons and think they’ll do it.