County cricket 2026 awards: the good, the bad and the best man

Featuring: a teenager taking a debut hat-trick, a win for one of cricket’s nice guys, and a hard summer for ground staff Tom Norton Not many people take a hat-trick on their Championship debut. Even fewer when they’re a teenager. But in early May, 18-year-old Norton roared in lik

Featuring: a teenager taking a debut hat-trick, a win for one of cricket’s nice guys, and a hard summer for ground staff Tom Norton Not many people take a hat-trick on their Championship debut. Even fewer when they’re a teenager. But in early May, 18-year-old Norton roared in like the north wind against Somerset and wrecked their top order.

His delighted teammates chased him around Sophia Gardens, patting his impressive beard. By August, he’d been ruled out of the rest of the season with a stress fracture of the back. But, even without him, Glamorgan survived their first year back in the top tier, and batters will be nervously waiting in 2027.

He made quite the first impression. Continue reading...