Watch: Mason Crane enjoyed a productive first outing with the ball for Glamorgan taking 4-60, a haul that included the wicket of Sam Conners with a sharp-turning wrong-un.

Crane, 27, is set to spend the entirety of the 2024 summer on loan at Glamorgan. Over recent years, Crane had been starved of meaningful red-ball action at his parent county, Hampshire; with Liam Dawson a permanent fixture in the Hampshire XI at the Utilita Bowl, Crane found first team appearances hard to come by. Despite taking 37 first-class wickets at 21 across the 2020 and 2021 summers, Crane featured in just five first-class matches over the most recent two County Championship seasons.

Crane did not appear in Glamorgan’s season opener – a runfest at Lord’s – but was drafted into the XI for their first home fixture against Derbyshire. Crane picked up four first innings wickets – Derbyshire captain David Lloyd was dismissed lbw for 60, before claiming the last three Derbyshire wickets in quick succession.

The most eye-catching dismissal was that of Conners, who was deceived with a googly that spun sharply into the tail-ender, breaching the gap between his bat and pad before cannoning into the stumps. Crane’s four-for was his best return in four-day cricket since taking a five-wicket haul in the final round of the 2021 County Championship. The wrist-spinner hasn’t played international cricket since making his Test debut in the 2018 Sydney Test as a 20-year-old.

Crane wasn’t the only spinner to enjoy himself at Cardiff. Derbyshire off-spinner Alex Thomson took career-best figures of 7-65 in the Glamorgan first innings. At the time of writing, Thomson already has four second innings wickets with four more Glamorgan wickets left to claim.

You can watch Mason Crane bowl with a sharp-turning googly below:

This Mason Crane googly. Sensational. pic.twitter.com/zlwgXelr7k

— Vitality County Championship (@CountyChamp) April 13, 2024

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