Glamorgan sign Mason Crane on loan, Mir Hamza for Championship

Mir Hamza, the Pakistan left-arm seamer, has signed to play for Glamorgan in the first half of the upcoming County Championship season. He will be joined in Cardiff by Mason Crane after Hampshire allowed the legspinner to join Glamorgan on a season-long loan.

Mark Wallace, Glamorgan's director of cricket, hailed the arrival of Crane, describing the 27-year-old as "a high-quality player who gives us an attacking skill set in all formats". Crane has played a Test and two T20Is for England, most recently in 2018, but struggled with injury. He was a Blast winner with Hampshire in 2022 but only played 14 times for the club last season.

"I'm very thankful for the opportunity at Glamorgan and incredibly excited to get to work and push towards a successful season with the team," Crane said.

Hampshire's director of cricket, Giles White, said the move would help Crane's development but that he could be recalled if needed. "Mason hasn't had the game time here at Hampshire over the last couple of years and time with Glamorgan offers him the opportunity to play first XI cricket across the formats," he said.

"Having had many conversations with him, we both feel that this is the best for his career and the development of his game. The deal is structured in a way that allows his return if we need him later in the season."

Hamza, 31, has been capped five times in Tests, most recently on Pakistan's 2023-24 tour of Australia. He has taken 434 first-class wickets at an average of 22.40, and previously represented Sussex and Warwickshire in county cricket.

"It's excellent news that Mir has agreed to join us at the start of the season," Wallace said. "He's an international bowler with a fine record and previous experience in county cricket. We're looking forward to welcoming him to Cardiff."

Hamza's signing comes in the wake of Grant Bradburn's appointment as head coach. Bradburn previously held a number of roles at the PCB, including assistant and head coach, before joining up with Glamorgan last month.

Bradburn said: "As coach, I am excited for our group to add such an experienced performer in Mir Hamza. Having worked with Mir previously in Pakistan, I have full confidence that Mir will add huge value to our team both on and off the field."

Hamza, who had a short stint at Warwickshire last year and played for Sussex in 2019, will be available for Glamorgan's first seven Championship games up until the end of May.

Hamza said: "I am thrilled to be joining Glamorgan for the County Championship this summer. It will be exciting to work with Grant again after working with him with Pakistan, and I can't wait to join up with the squad, get to training and help this great club push for a positive start to the season. I have heard many great things about Cardiff from my team-mates who played there last summer and look forward to meeting all of the supporters."

The club also announced a dual-captaincy appointment for the summer, with Sam Northeast taking the reins in the Championship and Kiran Carlson leading in white ball. Northeast, now in his third season at Glamorgan, succeeds David Lloyd after the allrounder left to join Derbyshire.

Glamorgan finished fifth in Division Two in the 2023 Championship, drawing 12 of their 14 games.