Jacques Rudolph is already looking forward to returning to Glamorgan next season after the most challenging county campaign of his career.
The 33-year-old South Africa batsman mixed some sublime limited-overs performances with self-confessed indifferent form in the LV= County Championship.
He was the leading run-scorer in the Royal London One-Day Cup – averaging a remarkable 82.14– and was fourth-best in the NatWest T20 Blast as Glamorgan made a rare quarter-final appearance.
But it was in the four-day game where Rudolph most significantly marked his card for the season – and a return of 857 at 31.74 fell below his high standards.
“It was a little bittersweet in the sense that I felt I played really well in the T20s and the Royal London Cup but unfortunately struggled in the four-day this year,” he told ecb.co.uk.
“That is something that I would like to rectify next season. It’s not always been easy batting at home but you can’t use that an excuse.
“We need to address our red-ball cricket and specifically I would like to get the team off to better starts next year. I have found it more challenging than other county years I’ve been here. We just need to improve that.”
Even before returning to his homeland this winter – where Rudolph will play limited-overs cricket for his home team the Titans – he has set his mind on what he must achieve at the SWALEC Stadium next year.
“I’ve set very high standards for myself and I have some personal goals in mind that I want to try and get to,” said Rudolph, who is also planning a well-earned holiday in between his Titans commitments.
“I want to rectify it because I do feel I am a better player than what my stats potentially suggest in the four-day competition.”
His numbers in the shortest formats were untouched by anyone on the county circuit – returning 1,118 runs in both competitions at an average of 69.87.
Rudolph, who played 48 Tests and 45 one-day internationals for South Africa, believes Glamorgan’s growing confidence in the shorter formats was key to his own success.
“I’ve really had a lot of confidence going into the white-ball campaign and it also makes a big difference having good players around you,” he said.
“I think we are a very good one-day outfit and there is a very strong confidence in our team unit when it comes to that.”
Glamorgan were just two runs away from reaching Finals Day, when they tripped up late against eventual finalists Lancashire Lightning, although the highlight was arguably chasing down 323 for three with time to spare at Sussex in the One-Day Cup.
Rudolph lit the way with an unbeaten 169 from 150 balls at the top of the order – his third century in the competition and enough to beat the Glamorgan List A record set by the great Viv Richards against Oxfordshire in 1992.
“I’d definitely say that was a highlight for me this year,” he said.
“It was one of my better innings not just from the actual score but also from a batting unit point of view, the way that we constructed that innings in chasing that total down in just over 40 overs.
“I had a nice partnership with Murray Goodwin in that game which really helps so I definitely felt like that was my highlight for the season.”
Glamorgan were unable to take similar strides forward in the championship, where a return of three wins in 16 games left them above only winless Leicestershire.
The departure of Murray Goodwin to retirement will also likely weaken them, but Rudolph has seen reason for optimism in some of the younger players coming through.
“I think it will be interesting what happens over the winter in terms of where our squad is going,” he said.
“I do think they have unearthed good talent in Aneurin Donald and Kieran Bull and people like Andrew Salter, which I do think are players for the future.
“With all of those people you have to be patient with them and you can’t expect immediate results but they do have the makings to be very good Glamorgan players.”