DAY 1 -
Morning Report:
The sky was blue and the sun was shining as County Championship cricket returned to Sophia Gardens. Asa Tribe, Glamorgan's newest rookie, got his first-class debut cap handed by Colin Ingram, as the young man from Jersey replaced Ben Kellaway who got injured ahead of the tie. The morning session belonged to Timm van der Gugten, who scalped two wickets in his opening spell, and returned to take another in his second spell right before lunch. Three wonderfully pitched deliveries, all landing on the same spot, and nipping in and out of the right-handed batter. Two bail crushers and one LBW, the flying Dutchman made the Kookaburra talk all session. Ned Leonard had an unlucky start to the game, with two edges falling short of first slip, and a well-directed bouncer to Ajinkya Rahane, who pulled it straight to Dan Douthwaite at deep square-leg, was dropped by the all-rounder after failing to judge the ball correctly. Runs flowed freely with Rahane at the crease, as captain Sam Northeast kept applying pressure with some smart bowling changes. A shared session as Leicestershire's score read 96-3 when the umpires called for lunch.
Teatime Report:
A session belonging to the Glamorgan bowlers with the Kookaburra ball, despite a counter-attacking 9th-wicket partnership from Tom Scriven and Sam Wood towards the end. Timm van der Gugten continued where he left of in the morning session, picking up the priceless wicket of Ajinkya Rahane from the River End, where he scalped all his four wickets from. Dan Douthwaite picked up his rhythm from the Cathedral Road End, running through the middle-order, picking up three wickets in the afternoon session, one of them being the big wicket Leicestershire's other overseas superstar Peter Handscomb. Fraser Sheat got his wicket in the end, thanks to a loose shot from Liam Trevaskis, pulling a short-of-good length straight to Dan Douthwaite at mid-on. Glammy bowlers found it difficult to take the 9th wicket, as Tom Scriven and Sam Wood offered some resilience for the English side, but at 230/8 at tea, Sam Northeast's boys are slightly ahead in the race, and would want to bowl the Foxes out for around 250.
Stumps Report:
Colin Ingram's half-century ensured the day going to Glamorgan's favour at Sophia Gardens after Fraser Sheat ended Leicestershire's resilience early in the evening session, as the hosts ended play on 114/2, trailing Leicestershire's first-innings total by 137 runs. Despite two early wickets from Ian Holland with the new ball, that of Sam Northeast on the very first ball, and debutant Asa Tribe, the Foxes failed to capitalise on that start. Kiran Carlson, who walked in at no. 4, was dropped off Holland's bowling at second slip by the ever-reliable Ajinkya Rahane, and Carlson along with Ingram made the travellers pay for their mistake. The Kookaburra ball stopped doing much after Holland's first spell, and that began the aggressive partnership between two experienced campaigners in Ingram and Carlson, who remained not out overnight on 63 and 41, respectively. Just like Mason Crane, Leicestershire's spin maestro Rehan Ahmed failed to find any help on a greenish wicket, as the Glamorgan batters look to pile on a heavy total and build a considerable lead on Day 2.
DAY 2 -
Morning Report:
It was a cautious start to the morning by Ingram and Carlson, both very aware of taking advantage of the Kookaburra ball after riding the storm that is the first hour. Their plans were executed perfectly as runs started flowing once the clock struck noon. Kiran Carlson got his fifty, which also brought up a consecutive 100-run partnership between himself and Ingram, who have further strengthened the middle-order this season, much to head coach Grant Bradburn's liking. Colin Ingram then wasted no time in accelerating, getting his century in 150 balls. Just as Kiran Carlson was looking to do the same, he got stumped off the bowling of Rehan Ahmed for 85, minutes before the end of the session. Billy Root saw off the next few minutes as the umpires dislodged the bails to call for lunch, as Glamorgan's scorecard read 201/3, trailing Leicestershire's first-innings total by only 50 runs.
Teatime Report:
Another session going Glamorgan's way, as Colin Ingram continued to add to his tally, ending the session on 158. After Billy Root was out LBW bowled by Rehan Ahmed, Chris Cooke joined the party, scoring 47 runs coming in at no. 6, before Ian Holland appeal for a caught behind was given out by the umpire, much to the South African wicketkeeper's disappointment. Despite the couple wickets, Glamorgan scored 115 runs in the session, ending on 318/5. Leicestershire took the second new ball in the 83rd over, ending Rehan Ahmed long but impactful spell. Colin Ingram will look to add a further 27 runs to his account to reach 1,000 runs in a season for the very first time, as Dan Douthwaite will counter-attack in the way he knows best. Big final session on the cards on Day 2!
Stumps Report:
A great day of cricket came to a close as Colin Ingram wrote his name on Glamorgan's folklore. Scoring his first-ever double century in first-class cricket in his adopted home, extending the lead to 180 runs, the fans could not have asked for more on a beautiful day at Sophia Gardens. Controlling the innings superbly, Ingram saw off the second new ball before playing his shots again, and was brilliantly supported by the tail of Timm van der Gugten and then Mason Crane. Glamorgan will hope for a big lead tomorrow morning before Leicestershire bat again.
DAY 3 -
Morning Report:
The long innings of Glamorgan finally came to an end, much to Leicestershire's comfort, after a whopping five sessions. Glamorgan declared their innings on 550/9 minutes before lunch, accumulating a lead of 299 runs. Colin Ingram remained not out on 257, his highest ever first-class score. He was well-supported all morning by Mason Crane, who was extremely unfortunate in getting run out on 49. Fraser Sheat came in at no. 10 and scored a 27-ball 34, and Ned Leonard too hit a boundary coming in at no. 11. Sam Northeast and Grant Bradburn had seen enough, and thought of getting the bowlers out of their one-and-a-half day rest, hoping to cash in on a tired Leicestershire batting line-up to get close to a winning situation. A big afternoon session for Leicestershire to determine whether this game heads to Day 4, or Glamorgan get the job done today itself.
Teatime Report:
Glamorgan pacers scalped three Leicestershire wickets as the score read 111/3 before the umpires called for the covers while the light drizzle showered past Sophia Gardens. Dan Douthwaite, Ned Leonard and Timm van der Gugten all took a wicket each, bringing Leicestershire's best batting duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Peter Handscomb together in the afternoon session. Ned Leonard's wicket of Lewis Hill was perhaps the best ball of the match, pitching outside off-stump and tailing back in to take Hill's off-stump at pace. Glamorgan could have gotten the big wicket of Ajinkya Rahane, but Mason Crane failed to catch the ball off his own bowling, not once but twice in successive deliveries. The visitors will look to take advantage of that and bring the trailing score down in the evening session, as the hosts will hope that miss does not cost them the match.
Stumps Report:
After a on-and-off evening session due to bad light, the umpires finally decided to dislodge the bails and call it a day at 6 PM, as Rahane and Handscomb were finding it difficult to spot the ball. No wicket in a shortened session for Glamorgan, but the pacers ensures they did not give easy runs away. A big task for Glamorgan to take the remaining seven wickets on a cloudy and rainy day without the help of floodlights at Sophia Gardens for this fixture. Leicestershire will look to bat the day out, especially with their power duo of Rahane and Handscomb out in the centre, while Sam Northeast and his men will have other plans. A massive day of County Championship cricket in store in Cardiff.
DAY 4 -
Morning & Teatime Report
The day's play began amid road closures due to the Cardiff 10k, and a poor forecast. Rahane and Handscomb did no favours to the Glamorgan faithful, almost batting all session before Kiran Carlson produced an edge off Rahane's bat, as the Indian international was dismissed for 102. The Kookaburra, mixed with a hardened Day 4 surface, made it tricky for the Glamorgan bowlers to find much success. However, Kiran Carlson started to get hopes up for Glammy fans, first by getting Rahane out, followed by dismissing Rehan Ahmed for a mere 4. Louis Kimber offered resilience, batting for much of the afternoon session with Peter Handscomb. However, Dan Douthwaite got his wicket, after the right-hander hit a cover drive hard straight into the hands of Kiran Carlson at cover, making it impossible to keep the white-ball captain out of the game all day. Just when the hopes got up again for Glamorgan fans, Liam Trevaskis' defence, along with a rainy forecast, damped some mood at Sophia Gardens. After being out of action for two days due to injury, Liam Trevaskis is close to saving the match for the Midlanders, along with yet another stellar performance with the bat from Australian international Peter Handscomb.
Final Report:
Rain stopped play into the evening and final session of the final day at Sophia Gardens, ending a thrilling game of County Championship in a draw. A flattened Day 4 pitch and a sensational partnership of 183 runs for the fourth wicket between Rahane and Handscomb, and a magnificent double century by Colin Ingram on Day 2 headlined a superb 4-day fixture. Glamorgan will now head to Hove to play Sussex starting Monday September 9.