Losing the world’s best T20 batter in Beth Mooney and arguably one of the world’s greatest batters in Meg Lanning would hit any team hard. West Indies’ opening batter Hayley Matthews shone at the top of the order, but they lacked further world-class talent that other teams were able to draft in last minute.
England’s Katie George had a stellar tournament in the field but a back injury prevented her from bowling.
They will have learned a lot from playing together on the biggest stage and youngsters such as Alex Griffiths and Hannah Baker showed their promise for the future, combined with the experience of Matthews, Sarah Taylor and Sophie Luff.
If restrictions allow Australian players to participate in 2022, the competition will go up a level, particularly in the women’s game.
For Glamorgan players involved across the franchises, Lloyd played just once for Welsh Fire, Ingram was inconsistent for Oval Invincibles and Cooke, Douthwaite and Van der Gugten also had limited opportunities at Birmingham Phoenix, Manchester Originals and Trent Rockets.
Analysis – BBC Sport Wales cricket reporter Nick Webb:
“For Glamorgan supporters 2021 will be a year to remember courtesy of the One-Day Cup triumph – their first trophy for 17 years and a first victory in a limited-overs final sparking celebrations for the faithful followers at Trent Bridge.
“The 50-overs competition may have been overshadowed by the razzmatazz of The Hundred, with the final shamefully scheduled on a Thursday just three days after the semi-final. But there was no doubting the joy shown by Glamorgan’s mixed bag of old hands and rookies, who managed to defeat Durham and Essex teams missing fewer players to the franchises.
“As for changes in next year’s squad, opening bat Nick Selman produced some big innings over the years without being quite consistent enough to satisfy the coaches, while highly promising seamer Roman Walker made a surprise exit in search of more regular chances.
“But the addition of experienced batter Sam Northeast should be a real bonus if he settles, Eddie Byrom will get top-order chances to prove himself, and James Harris can aim to match Michael Hogan’s longevity as a leading seamer.
“There will be eager scrutiny of Australia’s schedule to check how much of Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser we are likely to see in Wales, while Colin Ingram showed a few signs in the Abu Dhabi T10 of recapturing the form of his earlier years in Glamorgan’s coloured kit.
“None of Glamorgan’s Hundred players made any real impact in that tournament, so it will be interesting to see which of them is retained or picked elsewhere in the draft.
“Kiran Carlson and Joe Cooke could be contenders for first franchise contracts and, while it would be welcome to see more Welsh involvement with the Welsh Fire men, Glamorgan could be left with a solid base of experience for their defence of the 50-overs title.”