positives

Hope-Bell, Edwards and Wallace made first team debuts, as did batter Callum Nicholls, 22, and Australian paceman Connor O’Riordan, whose bid to develop in Wales after missing out in New South Wales echoes the example of county stalwart Timm van der Gugten.

Wicket-keeper Alex Horton, 22, was the top run scorer.

Nicholls and Hope-Bell played major roles in the dramatic closing win over Worcestershire, with Pontarddulais product Edwards marking his potential by taking three wickets after being thrust into the squad because of injuries.

“Of the younger lads, Jack Hope-Bell has been impressive throughout the tournament and showed again [against Worcestershire] he’s got a future here,” said Harrison.

“Callum Nicholls has had a couple of scores and to get 70 in a chase was really good. There’s a lot of experience for some of the younger players and it’s shown we’ve got a bright future ahead.”

Glamorgan are far from unique in blooding youngsters in the One Day Cup while some of their star names are away at the Hundred franchise tournament, but the perennial ambition to have a Welsh core to the team looks closer to fulfilment than has been the case since the noughties.

As well as those used, 18-year-old seam bowler Tom Norton – a breakout star of recent Championship games – missed the competition because of a back problem which will probably keep him out for the season, while batter Jacob Blades recently played for England under-19s at the age of 17.

“You’ve always got to plan for the future and this competition gave us that opportunity to develop a few of our players, playing against Ben Stokes for Durham is a great experience when they’ve watched him on TV playing for England.”

Captain Andy Gorvin, the oldest player at 29 for several matches, was compared to a school-teacher in charge of the youngsters by one opposition commentator.

“My family did tell me about that! I try to help in whatever way I can and when it doesn’t go right, it’s how to keep the guys going,” said Gorvin.

“The most important thing about sport is having the resilience to come back the next day. They’ve always tried to improve, it’s a three-week block with eight games so you improve on the job and I’ve tried to guide as well as I can, and I’ve got to improve as well.”

Dear Dave Roberts: I was totally disgusted to see you at the Dodgers’ White House ceremony pandering to Trump. As far as I was concerned, you made a complete fool of yourself. I’m sure many Dodgers fans were equally horrified with your behavior.

Susan Stann
Temecula

Today’s visit to the White House was baseball, not politics. It was a boost for MLB, not columnists who try to be political hacks with personal bias. If the hacks or detractors listened to the references it was all about achievement in what the team did to win. The Dodgers are part of the entertainment industry which annually draws maybe a billion fans or more and certainly billions of dollars. The hacks and detractors will not be convinced otherwise but if you line up any 50,000 fans at a game, you will see a positive vote for the privilege of going to the White House. Baseball wins, sports wins, the entertainment industry wins, and America wins. Boo the hacks and the ignorant detractors.

Bill Koury
La Cañada

Dave Roberts justifies his appearance with Donald Trump because it is a “baseball tradition” that should be honored.

I didn’t hear him protesting to uphold other baseball traditions such as banning Black players from baseball, not having designated hitters, or starting with a runner on second base in extra innings.

Traditions come and go. It seems Mr. Roberts traded his moral compass for a trip to the White House lawn.

David Griffin
Westwood

In my dreams Dave Roberts says, “Nope, not gonna go to the White House. If they want to fire me, let ‘em.” Dream on.

Jay James
Pico Rivera

I will suggest the nuclear option. The Dodgers should never again visit the White House. No matter who is president.

Dennis Doherty
West Los Angeles

Away from the football itself, one of the major stories out of the 2026 World Cup has been the conditions that players – and fans – have faced during matches.

It wasn’t just the heat – humidity, lightning, and rain have all impacted games.

While England did benefit from some fixtures being played in air-conditioned stadiums with roofs, such as in Atlanta against DR Congo, other conditions were less forgiving. Those included the stifling humidity and soaring temperatures in Miami for their quarter-final against Norway.

The much-discussed altitude of Mexico’s Azteca stadium for England’s round of 16 match against the co-host nation was perceived to be a major hurdle for the squad to overcome. That was before you took into account Mexico’s fearsome home record and notoriously raucous atmosphere at the ground.

Despite this, England adapted well and never seemed to be struggling due to the external factors imposed on them during games – or at least, managed to struggle less than their opponents.

While pre-tournament training camps to adjust to the conditions will have helped with preparation, it is testament to the players’ mental and physical strength that they managed to persevere in oppressive conditions better suited to opponents accustomed to playing in extreme weather. That could stand them in good stead for the more familiar conditions that will be present at Euro 2028.