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Glamorgan v Gloucestershire
17/05/2010
LV=County Championship Division Two
Day One. At Bristol.
By Richard Latham
Alex Gidman and James Franklin both fell when in sight of deserved centuries as Gloucestershire battled back to have the better of the first day at Cardiff.
Things looked to be going badly wrong when after winning the toss the visitors slumped to 27-3, with Jonathan Batty, Chris Dent and Hamish Marshall all back in the pavilion.
But Gidman led from the front with a fine innings of 97, made off 172 balls, with 13 fours and a six, and together with Franklin rebuilt the innings with a stand of 155.
By the time it ended with Gidman leg before to Jim Allenby Gloucestershire were on the front foot and confidence spread to the middle order.
Franklin hit 10 fours and 2 sixes in facing 175 deliveries and may have considered himself unlucky to be given out caught behind off Dean Cosker with the total on 224.
At that point the honours for the day could have gone either way. But Chris Taylor and Steve Snell frustrated the home attack with a unbroken stand of 79 to put Gloucestershire in control.
Now they will be looking to push on to maximum batting points in the morning and hoping that Vikram Banerjee is able to find some turn in the pitch as the match progresses.
Banerjee was included in the side after a look at the pitch, with Will Porterfield dropping out and Dent promoted to open with Batty.
Glamorgan clearly expect spin to play a part as they selected Robert Croft, as well as Cosker and skipper Jamie Dalrymple.
The first four Gloucestershire wickets to fall were all lbw decisions, the first three coming in the opening ten overs.
Batty (6) and Marshall (1) fell to Huw Waters, while Dent (6) was trapped by David Harrison to give Glamorgan a dream start.
But Gidman and Franklin dug in to take the score to 74-3 at lunch and then prospered in the afternoon session.
Gidman reached his half-century off 116 balls, with 5 fours, while Franklin followed off 110 deliveries, with seven boundaries.
Both batsmen hit Croft for big sixes, while Franklin did the same to Cosker. Together they changed the course of the day and perhaps the match.
Snell also hit two sixes in his innings, surviving a late chance to Croft, who could only help the ball over the rope for a maximum.
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