Match Reports

Glamorgan v Gloucestershire

Day Four

Glamorgan held on for a draw on the final day of the weather-affected LV=County Championship match against Gloucestershire at the SWALEC Stadium.

A further 60 overs were lost to the elements before the hosts ended the game on 146-9 in their second innings, leading by 60 runs.

Despite a dire forecast for the final day, the rain eased around 10am, allowing mopping up operations to commence out in the middle. After a series of inspections by the umpires, play began at noon with a minimum of 80 overs remaining.

At 80-3, Glamorgan were still six runs behind. Murray Goodwin duly wiped off the arrears and brought up the fifty stand with Will Bragg by clipping Will Gidman to the ropes at square-leg.

But, with the total on 90, Goodwin was bowled by the seamer. Two overs later, Glamorgan's positioned worsened as Jim Allenby was caught by Alex Gidman at first slip off his younger brother’s bowling.

Mark Wallace joined Bragg and scored his first run of the contest by driving Gidman into the covers before Bragg brought up the hundred in the 42nd over by despatching Tom Smith to the ropes at extra cover.

Wallace was then struck a painful blow on his hand by James Fuller. After medical treatment, the doughty Glamorgan captain resumed his innings.

With the total on 106, Bragg was caught down the leg-side by wicket-keeper Cameron Herring as he tried to flick Smith off his legs.

Wallace showed no sign of ill effect from being struck as he cover drove Fuller shortly before lunch.

Rain fell over the stadium during the lunch interval and prevented a resumption until 4.45pm, with the loss of a further 44 overs, leaving just 20 in the day's allocation.

Glamorgan began on 118-6, just 32 runs to the good, and with Wallace and Graham Wagg intent on survival. They faced the seam-spin combination of Will Gidman and Tom Smith.

Three runs had been added off 17 balls when Wagg fenced a rising delivery from Gidman into Michael Klinger's hands at gully.

Ruaidhri Smith edged the next ball into the wicket-keeper's gloves. With Glamorgan still only 35 ahead and just two wickets remaining, Dean Cosker joined Wallace with a gaggle of close fielders surrounding the ninth-wicket pair.

Three overs later, another fine delivery from Gidman saw Wallace become a further victim for the all-rounder with Glamorgan just 40 runs ahead and their last pair together.

Michael Hogan lobbed a drive against Gidman for two to long-off before clattering him through extra cover for two more.

With the obdurate Cosker stoutly defending against Smith, Hogan continued to mix caution with aggression, smearing a ball over the head of the slip cordon for four before drilling Gidman back over his head for another lusty boundary.

This flurry saw Matt Taylor replace Gidman, while the improving light saw James Fuller return in a final throw of the dice. But the final pair remained firm and at the end of the over, with Glamorgan 60 runs ahead and just four overs left for Gloucestershire to bat, the players shook hands.

Gidman finished with 6-50 from 25 overs. Gloucestershire took nine points and Glamorgan eight.

Day Three

Following a blank morning's session, a start was made at 2.30pm with 59 overs remaining in the day's allocation.

Tom Smith and Matt Taylor resumed their tenth wicket partnership against Graham Wagg and Michael Hogan, the latter swiftly ending the innings with just a single added as Taylor edged into Mark Wallace's gloves.

Facing a deficit of 86, Gareth Rees and Will Bragg opened Glamorgan's second innings as Will Gidman and James Fuller shared the new ball.

Bragg produced a firm off-drive against Fuller before steering Gidman through backward point for four.

Rees also struck an early boundary as he clipped Fuller to deep square-leg before steering Gidman to the ropes at wide third man.

The drizzle started to intensify and with the light deteriorating, the umpires took the players off the field shortly before 3.45pm for an early tea,

Rain and bad light prevented a resumption after tea until 4.55pm with a further fourteen overs lost from the day's allocation.

Fuller made the breakthrough in the second over of the session with Glamorgan still 59 runs in arrears as Rees sparred at a rising delivery and wicketkeeper Cameron Herring completed the catch diving in front of first slip.

Two balls later it was 27-2 as Stewart Walters was clean bowled by Fuller before Will Bragg got the scoreboard moving by leg-glancing Will Gidman.

In his next over the all-rounder claimed the prized scalp of Jacques Rudolph as, after switching to around the wicket against the left-hander, he induced an edge down the leg-side with Herring completing his second tumbling catch.

Murray Goodwin join Bragg at 36-3 with the Zimbabwean opening his account by off-driving Fuller for three.

Tom Smith's left-arm spin was then introduced at the River End as sunshine bathed the Stadium, while Matt Taylor switched to the Cathedral Road End. Goodwin twice cover drove the latter before

Bragg clipped him through mid-wicket as they continued to chisel away at the deficit.

Smith nearly had Bragg caught off bat-pad before Gidman returned and was glanced to long-leg as well as being cover driven by Goodwin.

The light deteriorated and at 6.15pm the players left the field with play being called off a quarter of an hour later.

Day Two

A fine spell of 5-46 by Dean Cosker restricted Gloucestershire to 230-9 and a first innings lead of 85 on an enthralling second day of their LV=County Championship match against Glamorgan at the SWALEC Stadium.

After only 19.4 overs had been possible on day one, the second morning began under clearer skies with Graham Wagg surviving the hat-trick delivery from David Payne, who had removed Murray Goodwin and Mark Wallace with consecutive deliveries the previous afternoon.

Will Gidman resumed in frugal mood at the Cathedral Road End and, with the total on 65, he trapped Jim Allenby leg before for 12.

Ruaidhri Smith joined Wagg, but their partnership proved a brief one as five runs later the youngster miscued a pull at James Fuller's opening delivery and skied a catch to wicketkeeper Cameron Herring.

Fuller struck again with the final ball of the over as Cosker, after clipping a ball to square-leg for two, was bowled shouldering arms.

Wagg and Michael Hogan used the long handle in a defiant last-wicket stand from 72-9 and a savage pull by Wagg against Fuller brought up the Glamorgan hundred.

Wagg launched the seamer over long-on for six, followed by a nudge for two to bring up the fifty stand and then a scythe through point for another four. Next over, he completed a 54-ball fifty with a firm on-drive.

Hogan greeted the return of Gidman by bludgeoning him through cover and mid-on for a pair of fours. But, with the total on 145, Matt Taylor ended his merry spree as he edged to third slip.

Wagg and Hogan were straight back in action after the interval as they took the new ball against Michael Klinger and Chris Dent, with the latter nearly departing to his first ball as he prodded Wagg just short of Murray Goodwin at point.

Dent then on-drove Wagg for four before twice striking Hogan through the covers as well as guiding him to backward square-leg for further boundaries.

Klinger was more circumspect and, with the total on 31, Wagg made the breakthrough as the visiting captain edged into the safe hands of Stewart Walters at second slip.

His departure saw Will Tavare join Dent, who continued to pepper the boundary rope as he twice despatched Allenby through the covers before Hogan switched to the River End and was cover driven by Tavare.

The nephew of former England batsman Chris Tavare played and missed a few times outside off stump, but he greeted the return of Wagg by drilling him through mid-off and mid-wicket for further boundaries as the second wicket pair consolidated Gloucestershire's position.

Dent duly guided Ruaidhri Smith through the slip cordon for four before straight driving the youngster to reach his half-century from 67 balls, also bringing up the Gloucestershire hundred.
Cosker's left-arm spin was then introduced with the evergreen bowler swiftly ending Dent's innings on 52 with his seventh delivery as he edged a drive into Mark Wallace's gloves.

With the total on 125, Cosker struck again as Tavare, on 42, miscued another drive through the leg-side and lobbed the ball to Hogan at wide mid-on.

Cosker then pinned Alex Gidman in front of his stumps, his departure seeing his younger brother replace him in the middle with the West country side on 131-4.

Gloucestershire resumed after tea on 138-4 and Will Gidman was swiftly into his stride as he cut Dean Cosker for four. But the spinner made the perfect riposte as he had the all-rounder superbly caught one-handed by Allenby at slip.

With a heavy bank of cloud building up, Hogan returned to the attack and he swiftly removed Herring, who edged a pull into Wallace's gloves as Gloucestershire slipped further to 144/6.

Hamish Marshall took his side into the lead as he twice cover drove Hogan for four. He twice lofted Cosker into the River Stand for six but the canny spinner lured him down the track again and had him superbly caught above his head by Stewart Walters at short extra cover for 32 as Gloucestershire lost their seventh wicket on 186.

Fuller then swatted Smith for four before edging the youngster into Wallace's gloves. Tom Smith secured the visitors’ first batting point as he cut his namesake for four, while Payne launched Cosker over long-on and long-off for a pair of fours.

His fusillade saw Allenby and Hogan return to the attack. The change did the trick as the latter bowled Payne with the total on 219 and Gloucestershire added 11 more before the close, which came with Smith unbeaten on 38.

Day One

David Payne was left frustrated as Glamorgan slumped to 47-6 on the first day of their LV= County Championship Division Two clash with Gloucestershire in Cardiff before rain washed out more than two whole sessions.

The Gloucestershire left-arm seamer was left waiting to bowl his hat-trick ball after he claimed the scalps of Murray Goodwin and Mark Wallace with the final two deliveries before the weather brought a halt to proceedings in the 20th over.

Payne, who left the pitch with figures of 3-14 from 4.4 overs, also claimed the wicket of South African batsman Jacques Rudolph for four as the home side collapsed.

Glamorgan's innings got off to the worst possible start when Gareth Rees was caught behind by Cameron Herring off the bowling of Will Gidman with the first ball of the day.

Will Gidman then trapped Stewart Walters lbw for four as the home side fell to 18 for two in the fifth over.

Things then went from bad to worse as a diving catch by Gloucestershire captain Michael Klinger off the bowling of Matt Taylor sent opener William Bragg back to the pavilion for 25 to leave Glamorgan reeling on 33-3.

Rudolph headed back to the locker room with only three more runs added to the board when Payne bowled him out for a painstaking contribution of four from 37 balls to leave the hosts four down after 16 overs.

That left Goodwin and Jim Allenby at the crease, but not for long, as the former was caught at slip by Alex Gidman off the bowling of Payne for just eight with the score on 47.

Payne struck immediately again with his next ball to send Glamorgan captain Wallace packing but before he could bowl his hat-trick ball the players were taken off for rain.

The break could not have come soon enough for the Welsh side, who were glad to get back to the safety of the pavilion.

A pitch inspection was set for 2pm but the rain continued to fall, with an early tea then taken with a further inspection scheduled for 3.15.

Play was then set to resume at 4:10 with 43 overs scheduled to be played, but bad light and rain just before the resumption caused a further delay with another inspection set for 5.45.

The umpires took to the field and finally decided there would be no more play on the first day, with Payne set to resume with his hat-trick ball first up on Monday, weather permitting.