Glamorgan Sign Ray Toole for County Championship Run-In

Glamorgan have signed New Zealand left-arm seamer Ray Toole for the final six matches of their 2026 County Championship campaign. BBC Sport reported that the 28-year-old is in line to make his first-team debut against Leicestershire at Grace Road on Thursday, August 20, as the Welsh county look to build from fourth place in Division One.

Toole arrives after topping the wicket-taking standings in New Zealand's 2025-26 Plunket Shield. Playing for Central Districts, he collected 35 wickets across eight matches, including 24 during his final four appearances. That domestic form has now earned him a role throughout Glamorgan's six-game Championship run-in.

The seamer has already gained recent experience within the county's setup. Toole played for Glamorgan's second XI against Worcestershire in the week before his anticipated senior debut and took six wickets in the match. His broader first-class record stands at 150 wickets from 48 matches at an average of 27.

Glamorgan director of cricket Mark Wallace said Toole possesses a skill set similar to Pakistan left-armer Mir Hamza, another addition for the closing stretch of the Championship season. Hamza is expected to arrive next week. Wallace said having Toole available would help the club manage bowling workloads during a demanding sequence of six games in six weeks.

The two new bowlers add to a squad that already includes South African batter Colin Ingram. However, County Championship rules permit Glamorgan to field only two overseas players in any one match. The county previously used New South Wales paceman Ryan Hadley for its first eight Championship fixtures of the season.

Toole was born in South Africa to British parents and has previous county experience with Essex and Durham. Glamorgan have also used Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jimmy Neesham and Nathan McAndrew in the T20 Blast this year, but Toole's immediate assignment is the red-ball campaign and the push through the remaining Division One schedule.