Match Reports

Glamorgan v Gloucestershire | LV= Insurance County Championship

DAY ONE

It was Glamorgan who took control on the opening day of their LV=Insurance County Championship match against Gloucestershire in Cardiff with their bowlers holding sway on a shortened day. 

Having won the toss, Glamorgan put Gloucestershire into bat and bowled them out for 165. Marcus Harris was the standout performer for the visitors, making 59 from 129 balls. It was left to the late order pair of Zafar Gohar and Tom Price to lead a rescue of sorts, with the pair putting on a vital stand of 46 to take Gloucestershire past 150. 

The Glamorgan attack was well led by Timm van der Gugten who took 5 for 26 to put his side in control of this match. 

Glamorgan were left with just one over to face before the close with van der Gugten promoted to open. He successfully carried out his nightwatchman duties as Glamorgan closed the day at 4 for none. 

Play got underway on time but just four balls had been bowled before a heavy burst of rain brought play to a halt. That relatively brief shower led to an early lunch being taken after the hover cover broke down in the middle of the outfield. 

After a long delay the offending cover was removed but when they did get back underway after an early lunch there were a further 14 balls before a rain shower took the players off the field once again.    

With the hover cover out of action the ground staff were left with sheets to cover the pitch which only further hampered clean up efforts. 

When play did finally get going it was a watchful start from Gloucestershire who were happy to see off the excellent new ball spells of Harry Podmore and van der Gugten. Chris Dent made 3 runs from 30 balls before he edged one to Chris Cooke off the bowling of Podmore. 

It wasn’t until the 19th over that the first boundary arrived. When the first four was struck two more followed closely afterward as James Bracey started to put some pressure back on the Glamorgan bowlers with three boundaries from one James Harris over. 

A stand of 66 between Bracey and Marcus Harris was broken in the last over before the tea interval when Bracey poked at a ball outside his off stump from David Lloyd and feathered an edge through to Cooke. 

The reintroduction of van der Gugten after the tea break brought four more wickets, all lbw, Miles Hammond, Graeme van Buuren, Ollie Price and Jack Taylor the batters to go.

There would have been considerable pressure on van der Gugten to lead the attack in the absence of Michael Hogan who left Glamorgan over the winter to join Kent. On the evidence of today he has taken a big step towards embracing that role this season. 

As the wickets fell regularly it was Gloucestershire’s Australian import, Marcus Harris, who held things together. Harris only arrived in the UK this week having competed in the Sheffield Shield final at the end of last month. It was a patient innings against a ball that was swinging and seaming, his first boundary coming from the 92 ball he faced. He had reached 59 when he was the seventh wicket to fall, a full delivery from James Harris swinging in and bowling him. 

Gohar and Tom Price’s partnership of 46 was the second highest stand of the Gloucestershire innings, an important contribution to the Shire tally just about keeps the away side in it.

DAY TWO

Glamorgan continued to control their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Gloucestershire, finishing the day on 388 for eight to give them a commanding lead of 223. 

The innings was built around hundreds from Kiran Carlson and Billy Root as the Glamorgan middle order began to take the game away from the visitors. 

A well made 81 for Eddie Byrom set the foundation for what came after as Glamorgan’s batting line up made a very decent start to the season on a pitch where you had to fight to get yourself set. 

The standout performer for Gloucestershire was Marchant de Lange who claimed figures of three for 72 on his return to his old club.  

The day started with nightwatchman Timm van der Gugten still at the crease and he didn’t last long, spooning a catch to Graeme van Buuren off the bowling of left arm spinner Zafar Gohar who had been given the new ball from the Cathedral Road end. 

When David Lloyd was bowled by Tom Price and Marchant de Lange cleaned up Sam Northeast, Glamorgan were 35 for three and Gloucestershire looked to be back in the match. Kiran Carlson and Eddie Byrom had other ideas though, as they shared a stand of 160 that took Glamorgan into the lead. 

Byrom was watchful at first before looking to attack once well set, but Carlson was a bundle of energy from the moment he reached the crease, his first scoring shots were back-to-back boundaries off Ajeet Singh Dale. 

Carlson had some luck on 39, Gohar putting down a very difficult chance that was high and spiralling while running away from the ball. Carlson was also dropped on 77 when Ollie Price didn’t hold on to a chance at slip. It was, however, Ollie Price that did take the catch that broke the stand between Byrom and Carlson. Byrom had a dash at a ball outside off stump from de Lange and Price took a great grab at a very short gully. 

The departure of Byrom didn’t slow Carlson down, he reached his first hundred since July 2021 from 128 balls. A return to form for Carlson will be very welcome for Glamorgan after the 24-year-old had a disappointing season in 2022. 

Carlson’s wicket came when he was trapped lbw by Ollie Price to leave Glamorgan 253 for five, pushing towards a three-figure lead.

With Colin Ingram dropping down the order due to a neck spasm there was pressure on Billy Root and Chris Cooke to make the most of the strong foundation that had been laid for them, and their stand of 69 took Glamorgan past 300 to claim their second batting point.  

With Cooke gone it was left to Root to steady the batting efforts, and other than when he was also the beneficiary of some good fortune when another dropped chance in Gloucestershire's slip cordon on 76, his innings was without real drama and contained some very classy shots. 

Ingram came into bat at nine but didn’t see out the day, edging a ball from de Lange with Ollie Price hanging on to a very good catch. 

Root reached his hundred just before the end of play as he finished the day undefeated on 104, reaching his century with a cover drive for four as Glamorgan claimed complete control of this match. 

DAY THREE

A brilliant 148 from Marcus Harris brought Gloucestershire back into their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Glamorgan in Cardiff as the visitors had a near perfect day with the bat after a tricky first batting innings. 

Starting their second innings 239 runs behind Glamorgan it was vital that Gloucestershire batted well, and the hundred from Harris and fifties from Chris Dent and Miles Hammond gave them hope of getting something out of this game. 

Throughout the Gloucestershire innings the Glamorgan bowling attack struggled to find the control that they had shown in the first innings of this game on a pitch that appears to be flattening out as the match progresses.

When bad light brought the day to a close Gloucestershire had reached 373 for five, 134 runs in front with Graeme van Buuren and Jack Taylor the not out batters. 

Glamorgan began the day on 388 for eight, 223 runs in front of Gloucestershire. They had added just 16 more runs when their last wicket fell with Billy Root not out on 117. This still represented a sizeable lead, and they would have been hopeful of making inroads in the morning session. 

That wasn’t to be, with Harris and Chris Dent progressing serenely on a pitch that has changed markedly from an opening day where batting was a slow and careful process. 

There was clear intent from the Gloucestershire openers who made a large dent in Glamorgan’s lead in the opening session of day three. The fifty stand between Dent and Harris look just 53 balls and they had reached 133 without loss at the lunch break. 

It looked as if the opening pair would surpass Gloucestershire’s first innings effort of 165 but they came up just short. Dent chopped a ball from Timm van der Gugten onto his stumps when he was on 78 to leave Gloucestershire at 161 for one. 

Harris didn’t make any missteps on his way to his fourth first class hundred for Gloucestershire. In the first innings he made 59 but didn’t hit the ball to the boundary until the 92nd ball he faced. In the second innings he reached his hundred with his 16th boundary from his 131st delivery. 

Gloucestershire erased the first innings deficit for the loss of just two wickets with Miles Hammond and Harris sharing a partnership of 111 either side of the tea break. 

Harris was dismissed when he attempted to reserve sweep a Kiran Carlson yorker and was trapped lbw, with Hammond departing 12 runs later when he missed a pull shot and was bowled by Dan Douthwaite. 

With Australia set to play the World Test Championship and the Ashes in England this summer this was a reminder of what Harris is capable of before squads are selected for those matches. With Harris rewarded with an Australian central contract he is clearly in the selectors’ minds. 

Runs from van Buuren and Ollie Price took the lead past the three figure mark but there is still work for Gloucestershire to do to prevent defeat. Heading into the final day a Glamorgan victory or a draw are the more likely outcomes, but with Gloucestershire in the lead and with batting left they may yet score enough runs for Pakistan spinner Zafar Gohar to pull off what would be a truly remarkable comeback win.

DAY FOUR

A Graeme van Buuren hundred led a brilliant Gloucestershire comeback in their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Glamorgan in Cardiff to secure a very creditable draw. 

Having trailed by 239 runs on first innings, Gloucestershire made 569 for seven in their second innings to set Glamorgan 331 to win. 

Three early wickets gave Gloucestershire a slim chance of pulling off the unlikeliest of wins, but a solid stand between Billy Root and Eddie Byrom saw the home side to safety at 110 for three. 

The pitch in Cardiff continued to improve for the batters as the match wore on with all the bowlers struggling to slow the scoring or claim wickets. The draw gives Glamorgan 12 points and Gloucestershire 8 points from this first round match. 

Having started the day at 373 for five Gloucestershire still had work to do to make this game safe. Van Buuren resumed on 36 not out and brilliantly held things together on his way to his fifth first class hundred for Gloucestershire. 

With support from Ollie Price, Zafar Gohar, Jack Taylor and Tom Price, van Buuren guided his team well past 500. That took Gloucestershire into a position where the draw was the most likely result and they had a chance, albeit a remote one, of pulling off a remarkable comeback win. 

The real attacking intent came from Tom Price who backed up his excellent bowling performance in Glamorgan’s first innings with a 60-ball fifty. Given how this pitch just got better for batting as the match progressed, Gloucestershire were perhaps understandably cautious with their declaration. When it did come they had set Glamorgan 331 runs to win in 46 overs. 

With the required rate starting at above seven runs an over it was always going to be a tough ask for Glamorgan to chase this down, but captain David Lloyd certainly showed some intent when he opened their second innings. He had made it to 6 from five balls when he scooped a ball into the leg side off Tom Price that was caught on the deep square leg boundary by Marcus Harris. 

Looking to attack against the high-class spin of Zafar was more difficult. The Pakistani slow left-armer was once again given the new ball and he rewarded his captain with the wicket of Colin Ingram when he bowled him between bat and pad. That left Glamorgan at 35 for two with 38 overs left to be bowled.

When Kiran Carlson poked at a ball from Price that was well taken on the second attempt by Jack Taylor at first slip if left Glamorgan 38 for three at the tea break. 

With Gloucestershire now the team most likely to secure victory they were impressive in the final session. Zafar was the most consistent threat, but de Lange was also beating the bat regularly but the pitch won out in the end with the two teams shaking hands for the draw with nine overs left unbowled. 

Glamorgan have a two week wait until their next match against Durham with Gloucestershire set to take on Yorkshire in Bristol on Thursday. Both teams will feel they have a lot of positives to take away from this game, especially given how the weather hampered preseason preparations.

Captain Graeme van Buuren reflected on a draw in Cardiff:

I think coming off not a lot of prep in the preseason with the weather around I thought the boys did an excellent job to come back after day one. Teams could have easily rolled during that period, and I thought the boys showed some fantastic character to get to where we were. 

They bowled really well and put us under pressure [in the first innings]. I thought Timm van der Gugten was fantastic with his line and length. There was definitely more movement, the pitch did get a bit wet. At the toss the pitch did look fantastic and then that little spell where they couldn’t get the covers did make a difference. But there is no excuses, the Glamorgan boys bowled really well in that period. The boys showed fantastic character. 

It was unfortunate with the covers [breaking down]. You can’t really blame anybody for that. The groundsmen have been fantastic, it is tough for them during this period so I don’t think there are any issues there.