Glamorgan rebuilt from the brink of collapse to turn defeat into a famous victory at Neath, as two of the county’s brightest young talents wrote themselves into the record books on the opening day of the One-Day Cup.

Jack Hope-Bell, just 19 and playing his first game as a professional, and 22-year-old Alex Horton, whose previous best score stood at an unbeaten 44, dragged Glamorgan back from the depths of 54 for 5 with a stand of 240, a new record partnership for the county.

It set up a total of 295 for 8, and despite a spirited fightback from Sussex, Glamorgan held on to win by 12 runs.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Sussex’s most experienced bowler on the day, struck early to leave Glamorgan reeling, removing two batters before the young guns had even had a look in.

Callum Nicholls, enjoying a bright start to his own Glamorgan career, fell for 13 after getting off the mark in style with a cover drive and a crisp pull through square leg, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the top order crumbling.

That’s when Hope-Bell and Horton came together, and Wales’s cricketing future looked in very safe hands.

Horton was watchful early on, ticking along at under a run a ball for his first 70 deliveries as the pitch began to ease. Hope-Bell, by contrast, found his rhythm once he passed 30, working the ball into gaps off the back foot and clipping through midwicket with increasing confidence.

A let-off arrived when Horton, on 63, was put down by Dom Goodman at long-off, and Sussex would pay for it.

Glamorgan smashed 106 runs in the final 10 overs as both batters brought up hundreds: Hope-Bell off 102 balls, Horton from 110.

Both have come through England’s Under-19 set-up, and on this evidence, there’s plenty more to come from the pair.

With 11 players across the two squads away on Hundred duty, the match doubled as a showcase for fresh faces, including Ollie Kirtley, son of former England and Sussex seamer James Kirtley, who made his own bow for the visitors.

In reply, Timm van der Gugten carried Glamorgan’s late-innings momentum straight into the field, removing Charlie Tear for just 6 via an edge to second slip.

George Thomas dug in but found scoring difficult, while Tom Price looked far more assured in an unfamiliar No. 3 role, compiling his maiden List A half-century.

Sussex’s chase looked to be slipping away at 106 for 5, but Hudson-Prentice and Jack Carson dragged it back into the balance with a battling stand, twice taking young spinner Romano Franco for six to force Glamorgan into rethinking their attack.

Franco had the last laugh, though, coming back to remove Hudson-Prentice for his efforts.

Dan Douthwaite proved the difference in the closing stages, finishing with 4 for 54 to complement Hudson-Prentice’s 5 for 62 with the ball earlier in the day.

Glamorgan will have been relieved that three dropped catches didn’t come back to haunt them, and when Carson fell in the penultimate over, Andy Gorvin – leading the side for the first time – held his nerve to defend 24 runs in the final over and seal a memorable win.

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