Tom Cullen: Glamorgan ‘cronyism’ must change after Matthew Maynard departure

Tom Cullen played in Glamorgan’s 2021 One-Day Cup final win over Durham

Glamorgan must use Matthew Maynard’s departure as a chance to reset and move on from a culture of “cronyism”, one of the county’s former players says.

Head coach Maynard announced last Thursday that he is to step down after five years of his second spell in charge, a year before his contract ends.

Ex-wicketkeeper Tom Cullen believes Glamorgan have been held back by their policy of appointing former players – such as Maynard, director of cricket Mark Wallace and outgoing chief executive Hugh Morris – to management positions, which he regards as “cronyism”.

Cullen was a member of Glamorgan’s 2021 One-Day Cup-winning team under David Harrison but, in red-ball cricket, he says Maynard has overseen a “cliquey” and “cosy” environment which has contributed to the county’s repeated failure to win promotion from County Championship Division Two.

During his five years at Glamorgan, Cullen also alleges there “was too much enabling of a drinking culture at the club”.

“From my experience they just keep doing the same things and not making any changes whatsoever,” Cullen told BBC Sport Wales.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same things and expecting different results.

“I feel like there’s a level of mediocrity that just gets accepted year after year.

“I think there is too much cronyism in the environment.

“There are too many individuals in positions of leadership that are too friendly with each other, and you know how hard it is to hold friends accountable.

“That needs to be looked at because it obviously hasn’t worked over the last 10 years.”

In response, Glamorgan chairman Mark Rhydderch-Roberts said: “We are always open to feedback from any of our players, staff, members or supporters.

“With Matt [Maynard] and Hugh [Morris] both leaving the club, there is an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the past decade but also to review how the club develops from next season onwards.

“The board and senior management constantly review all aspects of the club’s operations on and off the field.

“For clarification, Tom Cullen was not offered a new contract at Glamorgan County Cricket Club for the 2023 season.”

Prominent players leaving Glamorgan ‘soap opera’

Cullen, 31, left Glamorgan at the end of last season, returning to his native Australia after becoming disillusioned with life at the Welsh county.

There have been other notable departures over the past 12 months, including club legend Michael Hogan’s move to Kent and captain David Lloyd’s impending departure for Derbyshire.

“Michael Hogan, David Lloyd and Nick Selman – there’s a lot of guys that have left on their own accord,” said Cullen.

“You’ve got to ask yourself, are Glamorgan drilling down to the reasons as to why they’re leaving, and are they holding people accountable for that?

“I don’t think they are, and I don’t think they ever have been, because you’ve never heard of any change or any changes made because of those things.

“It’s sad but it’s the reality.

Tom Cullen (right) celebrates Glamorgan’s One-Day Cup final win in 2021 with Michael Hogan

“It felt like there was a bit of favouritism towards certain individuals.

“I believe there was too much enabling of a drinking culture at the club, and I’ve been away from it for a year so I don’t know if that’s still the case.

“It felt like it could have its own soap opera.”

Maynard has a long association with Glamorgan, serving the county with distinction as a batter for 20 years before returning as head coach in 2008 for a two-year tenure which ended acrimoniously as the team just missed out on promotion from Division Two.

Maynard took the reins for a second time in 2019 after two seasons as batting consultant under Robert Croft. This year, he has only been in charge of Championship cricket.

Glamorgan were in promotion contention until early September when defeat at Worcester saw their hopes fade, and they finished one spot outside the promotion places in both 2019 and 2022.

The Welsh county have underwhelmed in limited-overs cricket under Maynard, with no T20 knockout stages reached since 2017, and Harrison having run the 2021 side which won the One-Day Cup while Maynard was working for Hundred franchise Welsh Fire.

“Over the course of the time I was there, there was a lot of cliquey behaviour going on,” said Cullen.

“There was a lot of people afraid to speak up. There were some people that had different aspirations and ambitions for what their careers looked like.

“That was with the coaches as well. I don’t think a lot of the coaches held a lot of the players accountable to an equal standard.

“It wasn’t that high performing culture you expect from a professional sports team, and again the results speak for themselves.

“Over the last 10 years, the levels of mediocrity at the place has been there to see, disappointment after disappointment, failure after failure, and nothing seems to change.

Tom Cullen was Glamorgan’s Second XI player of the year in 2021

“I know a few guys, including myself, brought up a few issues because we wanted to push the club forward.

“We wanted to push things forward, but it always used to fall on deaf ears, and I think a lot of people ended up falling out with people over it, because there were some people that left on their own accord as a result.

“I think it’s just too cosy in there, and if you’re not in that ‘in’ crowd, then it made it very difficult for you to progress your own career, but also help the club progress.”

Cullen, from Western Australia, came through the Cardiff MCCU system and has a one-day batting average of 35.

But his status as Glamorgan’s reserve wicketkeeper behind Chris Cooke limited his chances, contributing to his departure.

“There are good things within the organization that are working well,” said Cullen.

“But then there are also some things that are mired in mediocrity that the board need to look at.

“I don’t have faith they will change because I believe they’ll hire from within again. I would love to be proven wrong, I really would.

“Me personally, I’m now a fan of Glamorgan County Cricket Club, will always be one because of the friendships and the camaraderie I had with people at the club

“I just want to see them make a change for the positive, and it needs to come now while they have the opportunity to do so.”