GLAMORGAN v LANCASHIRE

3rd June (4 days) 11:00 LV= Insurance County Championship Sophia Gardens Cardiff
150 & 188-4
V
173 & 164
Glamorgan win by 6 wickets
Glamorgan v Lancashire (LVCC) at Sophia Gardens

 

An unbeaten 63 by Marnus Labuschagne helped Glamorgan beat Lancashire by six wickets on the third morning of their contest in the LV=Insurance County Championship at Sophia Gardens to record their first Championship success over the Red Roses at their Cardiff headquarters for a quarter of a century, besides inflicting the first defeat this summer on the group leaders.

 

 

Day 1
 

Nineteen wickets tumbled on an action-packed first day at Sophia Gardens as Glamorgan dismissed Lancashire for 173 having opted to bowl first in their contest in the LV=Insurance County Championship before reaching 150-9 by the close of play.

Close of Play Report

There were 39 overs remaining when Glamorgan started batting after tea with David Lloyd off-driving Bailey before Joe Cooke unfurled a booming straight drive against Mahmood. Lloyd also drilled Bailey to long-off before dispatching him to the boards at mid-wicket, with Cooke also clipping Mahmood for four to mid-wicket, but with the total on 38, Lloyd shouldered arms to Mahmood and was bowled.

Marnus Labuschagne opened his account by on-driving Wood for four before steering a no-ball from the left-armer through the gully for another crisply struck boundary. He then clipped Wood to mid-wicket before being dropped at second slip by Liam Livingstone, as well as outside-edging Mahmood through a vacant gully. Labuschagne also greeted the return of Bailey by clipping him to mid-wicket before deftly glancing Danny Lamb to fine-leg.

But with the total on 74, Cooke was bowled playing forward to Bailey before Billy Root departed l.b.w. next ball with Kiran Carlson surviving the hat-trick ball before scampering a quick single with Labuschagne who might have been struggling to make his ground had the fielder made a direct hit. He atoned by unfurling a silky-smooth cover drive against Bailey before upper-cutting Lamb to the vacant third man but on 12 he became another man to depart leg before as Bailey claimed the third wicket of a probing spell.

92-4 then became 97-5 as Chris Cooke was smartly caught at backward point by Josh Bohannon as the home captain played a fierce cut against Lamb. The latter then claimed the prized scalp of Labuschagne who departed l.b.w. with the total on 102 as the Red Rose revival continued. Dan Douthwaite responded with a pair of rasping straight drives for four before Michael Neser clipped Luke Wood to square-leg for four.

But Mahmood returned and removed Douthwaite with the total on 127 as the Glamorgan all-rounder clipped a ball to Luke Wood at deep backward square-leg. After a brace of singles, James Weighell opened his shoulders to loft Mahmood for six over long-on but next over he feathered a catch down the leg-side into Vilas’ gloves to give Wood his first wicket of the innings. Next over Andrew Salter departed l.b.w. to Mahmood before Neser clipped Wood to mid-wicket as Glamorgan ended the day on 150-9.

 

Teatime Report

Lancashire resumed after lunch on 74-4 with Glamorgan looking to press home their advantage after their morning endeavours as Michael Hogan switched to the Cathedral Road End with David Lloyd continuing at the River End. Dane Vilas clipped Hogan to mid-wicket before Livingstone on-drove him for four. But the evergreen seamer claimed his 400th first-class wicket for Glamorgan as he trapped Vilas l.b.w. before next ball Livingstone edged Lloyd into Chris Cooke’s gloves as the visitors plummeted to 86-6.

Luke Wood cover drove Lloyd before clipping him to mid-wicket, followed by a firm off-drive against Hogan, with Danny Lamb also clipping Michael Neser to mid-wicket. Wood also welcomed the return of James Weighell by clipping him for six over square-leg but Neser trapped him l.b.w. next over with a full length delivery as Lancashire slipped further to 122-7. It nearly became 122-8 as an edge by Lamb against Weighell dropped just short of Billy Root at first slip. He celebrated his good fortune in Weighell’s next over by dispatching him for four through extra-cover.

Tom Bailey then flicked Neser to fine-leg before cover-driving him, followed by another glance to the long-leg boundary against Weighell, but with the total on 143 Lamb became another l.b.w. victim for Neser. With Saqib Mahmood as his new partner Bailey swatted Weighell through extra-cover before off-driving Neser. Mahmood also on-drove the Australian but he then inside-edged a delivery from Douthwaite onto his stumps. Matt Parkinson survived a sharp run-out chance and benefitted from four overthrows, but Douthwaite ended the innings next over as he bowled Bailey as Lancashire were dismissed for 173.

 

 

Morning Update

It’s over 600 days since there was a crowd at the Sophia Gardens ground for a Glamorgan match and a quarter of a century since Lancashire last played a Championship fixture at the Cardiff ground. Fortunately, there is no more waiting as play began on time at 1100 with Glamorgan opting to bowl first, having made one change to their line-up from the team which drew with Kent a fortnight ago at Canterbury with James Weighell replacing Timm van der Gugten who is on international duty with the Netherlands.

The two Michael’s – Neser and Hogan – shared the new ball as Keaton Jennings and Alex Davies opened the batting for the Red Roses but it proved to be a brief stand as Hogan struck with his tenth delivery as he bowled Jennings. Luke Wells made his way to the middle with the total on 5-1 and struck the day’s first boundary by cover-driving Neser before Davies did the same to Hogan followed by a square-drive through point.

But with the total on 32 Wells shouldered arms to James Weighell and departed l.b.w. Davies then cover drove Weighell before swatting a short ball to backward point where Andrew Salter gleefully clung onto the ball after it rebounded off his chest. Liam Livingstone joined Josh Bohannon with the total on 37-3 with the latter slashing Weighell over the head of gully for four. Livingstone also off-drove Douthwaite for four to bring up the fifty in the 20th over.

But Neser returned to the fray and claimed the fourth wicket as Bohannon feathered a catch into Chris Cooke’s gloves. 66-4 heralded the arrival of Dane Vilas who pulled Neser for four shortly before lunch

 

 

Day 2
 

A dramatic post-lunch collapse saw Lancashire subside from 88-3 to 164 all out in the space of 25.5 overs with Glamorgan’s Michael Neser claiming 4/25 during a waspish spell in their LV=Insurance County Championship match at Sophia Gardens. Needing 188 to win, the Welsh county were 137-3 at the close of play with Marnus Labuschagne unbeaten on 32.


Evening Update

After their stirring fightback during the afternoon, Glamorgan’s batsmen, needing 188 to win, had 41 overs to bat today plus all of Saturday and Sunday – a possible 233 overs during which to record their first victory over the Red Roses at Cardiff since 1996 and to inflict the first Championship defeat this summer on the visitors.

Joe Cooke began by nurdling Tom Bailey to third man for four before David Lloyd punched Bailey through the covers for four, followed by an outside edge for four over the head of the solitary slip fielder. Cooke also steered Mahmood over the slips for four before Lloyd edged the seamer to third man, with Cooke also unfurling a high-class cover drive against Bailey before pulling Wood for a huge six as the 50 came up in the 17th over.

Lloyd then cover drove Lamb before Matt Parkinson’s leg-spin was introduced in the 21st over with Cooke driving him straight for four before sweeping him to the ropes at square-leg, but later in the over he edged to slip where Liam Livingstone completed a regulation catch and departed for 38. 72-1 heralded the arrival of Marnus Labuschagne and he began by deftly nudging the spinner to fine-leg for three before Lloyd lofted him to long-on for four.

Labuschagne then outside edged Mahmood to third man as the target dropped below the hundred mark, prompting the return of Bailey in place of Parkinson at the Cathedral Road End. The seamer duly ended Lloyd’s tenure of the crease as he clipped a ball to Keaton Jennings at short mid-wicket. Billy Root duly brought up the hundred with a cover drive against Bailey but two runs later he departed l.b.w. to Mahmood.

With Kiran Carlson as his new partner, Labuschagne cover-drove Bailey for four before clipping him to fine-leg, with Carlson doing the same to Danny Lamb when he returned for a second salvo at the River End. Parkinson also returned for another brief spell but the fourth wicket pair remained resolute with Glamorgan needing 51 in what could be a humdinger of a session tomorrow.


Teatime Update

Having removed Alex Davies with his second delivery of his pre-lunch over, Michael Neser completed the remaining against Liam Livingstone who had joined Josh Bohannon at the start of the afternoon session. Livingstone began with a brace of fours against Douthwaite but there was a dramatic change in the complexion of the game as Neser struck again as he bowled Bohannon with a full length delivery. 109-4 then became 113-6 as firstly Livingstone got a leading edge to a leg-glance against Douthwaite with Neser running in from third man holding a fine catch running in from the boundary’s edge.

In the next over, a smart pick up and throw and throw at cover by Marnus Labuschagne ran out Luke Wood as the all-rounder tried a quick single. Dane Vilas then clipped Neser to fine-leg for four but the two balls later the visiting captain also departed l.b.w. to Neser who next ball found the edge of Tom Bailey’s bat as Chris Cooke completed a regulation catch with the visitors’ plummeting to 124-8.

Danny Lamb and Saqib Mahmood steadied the ship before David Lloyd replaced Neser whose spell of 4/25 had lifted his team’s spirits against the group leaders. The vice-captain was in economical mode with Michael Hogan also having a second spell at the Cathedral Road End as well as James Weighell with the ninth wicket pair accumulating almost entirely in singles.

But it was Lloyd who broke the stubborn stand as Chris Cooke pouched at the second attempt an edge standing up to the seamer as Lamb departed with the total on 153-9. After an hour’s play without a boundary, Matt Parkinson clipped his first ball to the ropes at fine-leg before Mahmood smeared Neser to mid-wicket for four, but next over Lloyd bowled the Lancastrian seamer as Lancashire ended on 164

 

Lunchtime Report

The start of Championship games at Cardiff this summer have seen plenty of wickets tumble – a dozen fell on the first day of the match with Kent, followed by fourteen against Yorkshire, whilst yesterday nineteen tumbled on an action-packed opening day against Lancashire by the end of which Glamorgan were 23 runs in arrears with their last pair – the Australian combination of Michael Neser and Michael Hogan – at the crease. But it only took two balls to end the innings as Neser drove a ball to mid-on with Tom Bailey running out Hogan at the striker’s end as the tenth wicket pair attempted a single.

The pair were swiftly back into action as Alex Davies opened the batting with Keaton Jennings against the two Michael’s who again shared the new ball for the Welsh county. Davies began by off-driving Neser for four before twice drilling him through extra-cover as well as mid-wicket. Jennings began with a brace of singles before James Weighell replaced Neser at the Cathedral Road End and in his second over had an l.b.w. appeal upheld against the former England opener.

38-1 saw Luke Wells join Davies who drove Weighell to the ropes at extra-cover before his new partner drilled both David Lloyd and Weighell through mid-off for a pair of firmly struck boundaries as batting appeared to be an easier proposition under today’s clear blue skies. Wells also greeted Dan Douthwaite by dispatching his first two deliveries to the boundary boards at extra cover. However, the all-rounder made the perfect riposte as he re-arranged Wells stumps with the next ball.

72-2 nearly became 72-3 as later in the over Josh Bohannon almost chopped Douthwaite onto his stumps, but Davies at the other end continued to play assertively as he drove Lloyd through the covers to take the lead into three figures shortly before lunch. But Neser returned at the River End and in the final over before the interval trapped Davies leg before for 47.

 

Day 3
 

An unbeaten 63 by Marnus Labuschagne helped Glamorgan beat Lancashire by six wickets on the third morning of their contest in the LV=Insurance County Championship at Sophia Gardens to record their first Championship success over the Red Roses at their Cardiff headquarters for a quarter of a century, besides inflicting the first defeat this summer on the group leaders.

Morning update

Some tenacious bowling yesterday afternoon by the Glamorgan attack, allied to a combination of reverse-swing from Michael Neser plus alert fielding, had seen Lancashire relinquish the upper hand in an action-packed contest, with a fine opening stand of 75 between Joe Cooke and David Lloyd laying the foundations for the pursuit of a target of 188.

Consequently, the Welsh county entered the third morning with Marnus Labuschagne and Kiran Carlson resuming their fourth-wicket stand with Glamorgan just 51 runs away from their first Championship victory over Lancashire at their Cardiff headquarters since 1996 – a year when the Spice Girls launched their debut single and BBC Two aired the first-ever episode of The Simpsons’ with Marnus being a two year-old toddler living in his native South Africa, whilst Kiran Carlson had not even been born!

Luke Wood and Tom Bailey shared the bowling duties with Labuschagne running the former down to the vacant third man boundary. But with the total on 146, Carlson miscued a pull against Wood, with Dane Vilas pouching the skier. Chris Cooke began by clipping Wood to square-leg before also nurdling him to third man. Labuschagne continued to quietly work the ball around with Cooke also pulling Wood for four.

Labuschagne completed his fifty from 54 balls by clipping Wood for two. With eleven needed Bailey switched to off-spin with Danny Lamb also replacing Wood. Labuschagne straight drove Bailey for four before Luke Wells had a trundle before Labuschagne deftly late cut Bailey for two to seal a well-deserved victory

 

Day 4
 

 

 

 

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