Close of Play Report

Glamorgan had reached 197-3 from 65 overs at tea with Kiran Carlson and Colin Ingram looking to further consolidate in the final session. Carlson pulled Tom Scriven for four before doing the same to Ben Green. Ingram also carved Green through backward point for four before lofting Liam Trevaskis for a straight six. But in his next over, the spinner responded by yorking Carlson as he shaped to advance down the wicket and lost his leg stump. (writes Andrew Hignell)

238-4 saw Ben Kellaway make his way to the middle to join Ingram who continued to accumulate with a series of well-placed singles on both sides of the wicket. Kellaway also drove fluently as the part-time spin of Rishi Patel was also briefly employed rather than immediately taking the new ball. Chris Wright and Logan van Beek returned to the fray after 84 overs

Ingram unleashed a booming off-drive against van Beek whilst Kellaway flayed Wright over the slip cordon for four, but with the total on 283 van Beek trapped Kellaway l.b.w. with a ball that jagged back in to the batter. With Chris Cooke as his new partner, Ingram on-drove Wright for four before steering van Beek to third man to complete a 101-ball fifty. Cooke then chipped the seamer through mid-wicket for four as Glamorgan reached the 300-mark and a second batting point shortly before the close of play.

Afternoon Update

Resuming after lunch on 105-1, Asa Tribe swiftly picked up where he had left off before the interval, nonchalantly on-driving Tom Scriven for four. Sam Northeast also leg-glanced Ben Green to the ropes at fine-leg before Tribe square-cut Scriven. However, on 72 Tribe had a moment of good fortune as wicket-keeper Peter Handscomb spilled an edge diving low to his right.

Both batters then unleashed a pair of ferocious on-drives but with the total on 145, Northeast departed after an appeal for a catch by Handscomb from an edged pull against Sam Wood was upheld by the umpire. His departure saw Kiran Carlson become Tribe’s new partner with the opener continuing his progress towards a maiden century by straight driving spinner Liam Trevaskis for six.

After a series of singles, he duly reached this personal landmark by pulling Trevaskis for two to deep fine-leg – his 158th delivery – having posted fifteen boundaries. But on 107 his doughty innings came to an end as he edged a drive against van Beek into Handscombe’s gloves. 178-3 nearly became 178-4 but Rishi Patel at slip dropped an edge from Carlson as he attempted to cut the spin of Liam Trevaskis, with the white-ball captain together with Colin Ingram seeing Glamorgan through to the tea interval with Carlson flicking Wright to fine-leg for four.

Morning Update

After the thrills and spills of the Vitality T20 Blast, it’s back to red-ball action for Glamorgan’s cricketers as they meet the county who defeated them by ten wickets in the first week of April. This was the first of five victories for the East Midlands side during the opening block of seven games in the competition, and which has seen the Foxes secure a commanding lead at the top of the Division Two table. Glamorgan are 42 points behind Leicestershire in third place in the table after posting three successive victories – a feat they last achieved in 2015 – with each success, against Kent, Northamptonshire and Middlesex, coming with a day to spare during May as they rocketed up the table. 

Compared with the team which defeated Middlesex, Ben Kellaway and Colin Ingram returned to the Welsh county’s batting line-up, whilst Mason Crane and Ned Leonard were added to their bowling unit as four changes were made to the Glamorgan team, with Andy Gorvin and Tom Bevan omitted from the squad announced ahead of the game.

Overnight there had been the sad news of the passing of Syd Lawrence, the former Gloucestershire and England fast bowler, so a minute’s silence was observed before the start of play, whilst all of the players and umpires wore black armbands After Sam Northeast had won the toss, Glamorgan opted to bat first with Asa Tribe striking the first boundary as he cover-drove Logan van Beek.

The Jersey international followed this by clipping Chris Wright through mid-wicket as well as glancing van Beek to the ropes at fine-leg and mid-wicket, followed by a firmly-struck drive through mid-off against Wright. Tribe also greeted the introduction of Ben Green into the attack by clipping three of his first four deliveries to the ropes at mid-wicket. ul Hassan then found the ropes as he square-drove van Beek with Tribe also on-driving Tom Scriven.

ul Hassan also cover drove Scriven before nurdling him through the gully for another boundary, followed by a deft leg-glance when Sam Wood entered the attack at the Bennett End. Tribe also off-drove the young bowler en route to completing his fifty from 69 balls. Their opening stand had reached 98 when Wright returned at the Pavilion and made the breakthrough as ul Hassan got an edge to a leg glance and was caught by a tumbling Peter Handscomb behind the stumps.

Sam Northeast duly joined Tribe shortly before lunch and helped guide his side through to the interval without further alarm.

Morning Report

Unlike on the first day, the morning session of Day 2 belonged to the table-toppers at Grace Road. Walking out to bat at 305-5 overnight, Colin Ingram lost his wicket in only the third ball of the day, adding no score to his 56 from Day 1. Timm van der Gugten lost his wicket in the very next ball, as Ben Green gave the hosts the perfect start to the day. Mason Crane did not last long at no 9, as Ben Green struck for the third time in under half an hour to add to Glamorgan's morning misery. However, Glamorgan did manage to get their third batting, in quite a dramatic fashion. 

After James Harris lobbed the ball to mid-on, Ned Leonard walked in to bat for the last wicket, with Glamorgan requiring 18 runs in just 15 balls to get that third batting point. Leonard played two free-flowing cover drives to his former teammate at Somerset Ben Green, before Chris Cooke hit a four over mid-on off the last ball of the 110th over to seal another crucial point. Rishi Patel and Sol Budinger walked out to bat for the final 45 minutes of the morning session, and survived the new-ball bowling duo of van der Gugten and Harris with ease. At lunch on Day 2, Leicestershire are 36-0, trailing by 317 runs.

Teatime Report

A stunning century from Sol Budinger headlined the afternoon session at Grace Road on Day 2, the left-handed opening batter scored one of the most aggressive centuries in the County Championship. As Rishi Patel played the anchor role, Sol Budinger took on the Glamorgan attack, scoring at more than a run-a-ball in a chanceless and fearless innings. 

Timm van der Gugten and Zain ul Hassan were the only Glamorgan bowlers to not go over 5 runs an over, as Leicestershire batters made full use of the Kookaburra ball and relatively flat Grace Road wicket. Mason Crane, on his first Championship game of the season, was met with a strong intent from the home batters, and Ben Kellaway got the same treatment when the ambidextrous bowler replaced the leg-spinner. Zain ul Hassan's two wickets ahead of tea were the only bit of positive for the visitors in the session, as Richard Dawson will expect more from his bowlers in the evening session. 

Stumps Report

A frustrating day came to an end for Glamorgan just after half past six, as Leicestershire accumulated all the runs Glamorgan scored in the first innings, and more. Sol Budinger and Rehan Ahmed put their name all over Day 2 of this Rothesay County Championship match at Grace Road in Leicester, as Sam Northeast and Richard Dawson will have to put on a stronger fightback on the morning of Day 3 to stay in this match. 

Leicestershire will look to run away with this match and score big tomorrow, and have another solid morning session, as they did today on Day 2. Ben Green provided the hosts with the perfect start, picking up three wickets in as many overs to dismiss Glamorgan's lower middle-order. Chris Cooke and Ned Leonard managed to get the Welsh county their third batting point, before being put to bowl shortly before the lunch break. At stumps on Day 2, Leicestershire finish on 389-3, leading by 36 runs.

Morning Report

It was a highly improved performance from the Glamorgan bowlers, as Leicestershire lost four wickets in the morning session of Day 3. Chris Wright, Lewis Hill, Peter Handscomb and Liam Trevaskis all lost their wickets to the pace bowling combination of Timm van der Gugten, James Harris and Ned Leonard. However, the hosts got their fifth and final batting point, getting past 450 in only 101 overs. 

Sam Northeast and Richard Dawson will look to get the remaining three wickets soon after lunch, but Leicestershire's depth in batting, as was seen in the return fixture at Sophia Gardens on the first week of the season, will be a reason to worry for the Welsh county. A huge afternoon session awaits in this round, which could decide the fate of the game. 

Teatime Report

Leicestershire batted out more than an hour of the afternoon session, courtesy of Ben Green and Logan van Beek's unbeaten 8th wicket partnership, before declaring their 1st innings with a healthy lead of 223 runs. Both Green and van Beek got past their fifties, before captain Peter Handscomb decided to go all with the bowlers. 

To everyone's surprise, Mason Crane walked out to bat with Zain ul Hassan, replacing centurion Asa Tribe. Both openers were out bowled by Logan van Beek, but there were still no signs of Asa Tribe, as Sam Northeast and Kiran Carlson walked out to bat in their usual positions of numbers 3 and 4. Kiran Carlson lost his wicket in the last over before tea, ended the afternoon session on 36-3, trailing Leicestershire's 1st innings total by 187 runs. 

Stumps Report

Glamorgan recovered in the evening session to stay in the game after the end of three days at Grace Road, with a solid fifty from captain Sam Northeast and an ever-so-reliable Colin Ingram weaving together a 95-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Leicestershire bowlers were highly disciplined despite not being able to pick up a wicket all evenings, and made run-scoring difficult for the Welsh county. 

After being dropped at slip on 20, Northeast played a chanceless and careful innings to ensure Glamorgan have a higher chance to draw the match than it looked at tea, with Colin Ingram too putting the breaks on his otherwise expansive and beautiful cover drives. Peter Handscomb gave all the bowlers a fair go after tea in an attempt to break the partnership, and will hope that his bowlers recover well ahead of the all-important deciding day at the Uptonsteel County Ground in Leicester tomorrow. At the end of day's play, Glamorgan are 131-3, trailing by 92 runs.

Morning Report

Another session for Glamorgan without losing a wicket, thanks to a magnificent 34th first-class ton off the bat of Sam Northeast, and a supporting and solid fifty from Colin Ingram. The two senior-most duo kept accumulating runs and blocking the good balls off the Leicestershire bowling attack, much to the frustration of Peter Handscomb and Alphonso Thomas. The 4th-wicket partnership remained not out on 178 as the umpire called for lunch at 1300, giving the players a much-needed and deserving break.

Sam Northeast played a chanceless innings all morning, and Colin Ingram reserved his usual ability to dispatch the odd ball for a boundary, to ensure that they put a huge price on their wicket. Logan van Beek and Ben Green took the ball in the morning, and were replaced by Sam Wood and Tom Scriven, but all four bowlers found it extremely difficult to beat the bat of the senior statesmen with the Kookaburra ball on a flattened and hard Grace Road wicket. Richard Dawson will want this partnership to 250 and beyond to ensure that a loss is out of bounds for his team. At lunch, Glamorgan are 208-3 in their 2nd innings, trailing Leicestershire's 1st innings total by 10 runs.

Teatime Report

Despite losing a couple of wickets in the afternoon session, Glamorgan will be the happier of the two teams going into the tea break, knowing that a draw is the most likely scenario with one last session of play left in the match. Sam Northeast continued where he left off before lunch in the afternoon session, but probably lost his concentration after hitting a boundary of left-arm spinner Liam Trevaskis, chipping one straight up in the air the following ball, only for Sam Wood to complete the catch and end a sensational innings. Colin Ingram, however, kept going after the captain lost his wicket, scoring a steady and rock-solid century at the halfway mark of the session. 

Ben Kellaway, who had walked out to bat at no. 6 following Northeast's wicket, looked to score runs in quite a free-flowing manner, however the Newport-born all-rounder ended up losing his wicket in an attempt to pull a Ben Green ball straight into the hands of Sam Wood at deep square-leg, who safely accepted another catch. Chris Cooke and Colin Ingram solidified the defence again and saw the Welsh county to tea at 305-5, leading by 82 runs.

Final Report

An hour into the evening session, captain Peter Handscomb shook hands with Colin Ingram and Asa Tribe to call off the game as a draw, much to the delight of all Glamorgan fans. A memorable innings from Colin Ingram came to an end, as he remained not out on 133 off 308 balls, to see the Welsh county home. Asa Tribe, who scored a magnificent century in the 1st innings and was taken ill for the remainder of the game, came out to bat at no. 8 after Chris Cooke's wicket, and batted for 15 minutes despite being unwell to confirm the draw. 

Glamorgan took 13 points on the road against the table-toppers, to further cement their place in the top 3 of the Rothesay County Championship 2025, just one position below promotion. Richard Dawson and Sam Northeast would be extremely pleased with the effort shown before County Cricket Day 2025 on Sunday 29 June at Sophia Gardens, where Glamorgan welcome Gloucestershire.