Hope-Bell, Edwards and Wallace made first team debuts, as did batter Callum Nicholls, 22, and Australian paceman Connor O’Riordan, whose bid to develop in Wales after missing out in New South Wales echoes the example of county stalwart Timm van der Gugten.

Wicket-keeper Alex Horton, 22, was the top run scorer.

Nicholls and Hope-Bell played major roles in the dramatic closing win over Worcestershire, with Pontarddulais product Edwards marking his potential by taking three wickets after being thrust into the squad because of injuries.

“Of the younger lads, Jack Hope-Bell has been impressive throughout the tournament and showed again [against Worcestershire] he’s got a future here,” said Harrison.

“Callum Nicholls has had a couple of scores and to get 70 in a chase was really good. There’s a lot of experience for some of the younger players and it’s shown we’ve got a bright future ahead.”

Glamorgan are far from unique in blooding youngsters in the One Day Cup while some of their star names are away at the Hundred franchise tournament, but the perennial ambition to have a Welsh core to the team looks closer to fulfilment than has been the case since the noughties.

As well as those used, 18-year-old seam bowler Tom Norton – a breakout star of recent Championship games – missed the competition because of a back problem which will probably keep him out for the season, while batter Jacob Blades recently played for England under-19s at the age of 17.

“You’ve always got to plan for the future and this competition gave us that opportunity to develop a few of our players, playing against Ben Stokes for Durham is a great experience when they’ve watched him on TV playing for England.”

Captain Andy Gorvin, the oldest player at 29 for several matches, was compared to a school-teacher in charge of the youngsters by one opposition commentator.

“My family did tell me about that! I try to help in whatever way I can and when it doesn’t go right, it’s how to keep the guys going,” said Gorvin.

“The most important thing about sport is having the resilience to come back the next day. They’ve always tried to improve, it’s a three-week block with eight games so you improve on the job and I’ve tried to guide as well as I can, and I’ve got to improve as well.”

Trent Rockets are relying on a favour from Manchester Super Giants after a six-match winning run was ended by Southern Brave at Trent Bridge to deny them direct progress to Sunday’s final.

The league leaders must now await the outcome of second-placed SunRisers Leeds’ trip to Manchester Super Giants on Tuesday to discover whether they will have to go through an eliminator.

SunRisers can snatch top spot and a ticket straight to Lord’s with a win as their net run rate is superior to the Rockets’. But a Super Giants win would move them level on points with SunRisers on 20 and potentially even up to second with a big enough margin of victory.

South African Tristan Stubbs saw Brave home with three balls to spare after hitting 52 not out off 28 balls, but the game changed on Marcus Stoinis’ arrival at the crease with the score on 78-3 at halfway chasing 159 for victory.

The Australian dispatched his first three balls for six, four and six to signal his intent and his 46 off 25 changed the game.

The Rockets’ total of 158-5 was boosted by an unbroken stand of 66 in 39 balls between Mitchell Santner (35no) and Lewis Gregory (28no).

Prior to that opener Finn Allen (23 off 12) and Aneurin Donald (19 off nine) had created the early momentum.

Reflecting on Brave’s campaign, Stubbs said: “It’s been disappointing, but it’s a nice way to finish off. In hindsight it’s a bit frustrating.

“We gave it our all for the month but in the first three games we lost a couple of close ones and then it’s hard to get momentum.

“I think we’ve shown at the end what we can do but it took us a while to get there.”

Watch every match of The Hundred through to the finals on Sunday August 16. Stream contract-free on NOW.

Liverpool have confirmed the signing of defender Ronald Araujo from Barcelona.

The deal is an initial loan for the 27-year-old, who signed a new contract with Barca until 2031 last year, and also includes an option to buy for around £47.14m (€55m).

⁠Liverpool are not paying Barcelona a loan fee and will cover the entirety of Araujo’s salary for the duration of the season-long loan. It is understood Araujo has taken a pay cut to facilitate the move.

Araujo, who will wear the No 33 shirt, told Liverpoolfc.com: “I can’t wait to get started. I’m very, very happy.

“I’m excited to be here at this massive club with lots of history. I’m excited to meet my team-mates, excited to get started playing, and I’m very motivated and really up for getting going.

“I think it was the ideal move for me at this stage in my career. I think it was a move that was necessary for me to take. As soon as I heard that interest from Liverpool, everything went into action really, really quickly.

“As I say, I’m super-happy to be here and excited to get started. I’m glad about the interest and it was the right move at the right time.”

The Uruguay international, who did not play at the World Cup due to injury, is expected to train with his new team-mates this week.

Araujo will add to Andoni Iraola’s options at the heart of his defence following the departure of Ibrahima Konate to Real Madrid and fitness concerns over inexperienced 21-year-old Jeremy Jacquet.

Jacquet, a summer signing from Rennes, has made fewer than 100 senior career appearances and has not featured in pre-season yet after missing the second half of last season following shoulder surgery.

Joe Gomez suffered a muscle injury in Liverpool’s opening pre-season game, while teenage centre-back Giovanni Leoni is still recovering from an ACL injury, leaving captain Virgil van Dijk as Liverpool’s only fully-fit senior centre-back.

Araujo, who can play at right-back and centre-back, moved from his native Uruguay in 2018 and made his Barcelona debut the following October, going on to play more than 200 games for the LaLiga side.

He was named as one of the club captains following the departure of Marc-Andre ter Stegen in January, but started only 11 LaLiga matches for the Catalan giants last season after an extended break from football in November 2025 to recover from what he later revealed was depression.

Why the Araujo deal works for Liverpool…

Liverpool had not been actively seeking out defensive reinforcements, their priority firmly on adding a wide forward, but this was a market opportunity that made sense for a number of reasons.

Ronald Araujo can play at centre-back or right-back, and, crucially, he was available on loan. This offered an appropriate solution to injury concerns that are deemed to be more short-term.

Liverpool have already committed £60m to signing Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes, with a view to him partnering Virgil van Dijk at centre-back.

However, it remains to be seen if he will be fit for the start of the season, as Liverpool take caution with his re-integration to competitive action following a shoulder injury that has kept him out since February.

A muscle problem for Joe Gomez, which will keep him out for the Premier League opener against Newcastle, has worsened the problem for new head coach Andoni Iraola, who by his own admission is slim on options at the back.

Araujo arriving on a temporary move alleviates that injury headache and adds a layer of experience to Liverpool’s backline that is sorely missing. He has played more than 200 games for Barcelona after all.

There are understandable concerns around whether Araujo can turn around his struggles with form and fitness. Liverpool are not short on defenders with patchy injury records.

Liverpool are taking on a deal with an element of risk in that regard. But there is also a potentially big reward if Araujo does rediscover his best form thanks to the option to buy inserted in the deal worth around £47m.

At the peak of his powers, Araujo was being valued at around double that figure. Liverpool will hope to see his best in the Premier League, a division which is seemingly suited to his strengths.

How Liverpool were able to get Araujo

This is a deal that suits all parties. Liverpool require defensive cover amid injury worries around a number of players, while Araujo is not part of Hansi Flick’s plans at Barcelona and is in need of a fresh start.

Araujo signed a new contract with Barcelona last year in January that reportedly put him among the club’s highest earners. Six months earlier, he had been named Barcelona’s vice-captain.

However, the Uruguay defender has since been unable to reach the heights that earned him such high status at Barcelona amid struggles with injury and his mental health.

Araujo wore the captain’s armband as Barcelona celebrated becoming champions of Spain in May, but he had only played 24 times throughout the season.

Flick admitted when confirming the deal that Araujo was not suited to the way he wants to play and said the defender was excited about having the chance to move to a new environment.

Barcelona can now bring in a defender that Flick wants to work with, and Araujo has the opportunity to rebuild his career in the Premier League. If he performs, they will either earn a decent fee from Liverpool or his value will increase.