Matthew Maynard burst onto the county scene at Swansea in 1985 scoring an amazing century on his first-class debut. Born in Lancashire, Maynard was brought up in North Wales, and after a short spell on Kent's staff, he joined Glamorgan in 1985, and ever since he has thrilled the county's supporters with his dashing strokeplay, and he has set a host of batting records, the most recent being the county's record century-maker in 2004. Back in 1986, he became the youngest-ever Glamorgan player to score 1000 runs, and in 1988, further displays of such uninhibited batting drew the attention of England's selectors as he made his Test debut against West Indies at The Oval. Maynard got a further taste of international cricket in 1989-90 as he toured South Africa with Mike Gatting's rebel side. Maynard's quick-scoring talents have also been a key feature behind Glamorgan's success in one-day cricket in the 1990's, and in particular the Sunday League title in 1993. During that summer, Maynard also hit a century before lunch against the Australians at Neath, and was recalled to the England side for two Tests in the Ashes series. He also won a place on the winter tour of the West Indies, where he won another Test cap and appeared in five one-dayers. By this time, Maynard was captain of Glamorgan and led them to the Championship title in 1997. He later stood down, but 2000 was a memorable summer for Maynard as he led Glamorgan to their first appearance in a Lord`s Cup final since 1977, and was also recalled to the England team for 2000 NatWest series, but made disappointing scores of 3 and 0. He was awarded a benefit year with Glamorgan for the 2005 season. He was signed up in September 2004 to act as England assistant coach, and the following season announced his impending retirement, to concentrate on his new career.
Andrew Hignell March 2005