Bad light at Chelmsford with Essex leading by 195 runs

After the fourth-day finish to the opening Investec Ashes Test at their headquarters in Cardiff, Glamorgan's LV=County Championship match at Chelmsford will have started and ended by the time the England and Australian teams walk out at Lord's on Thursday to commence the second game of the Test Match series. It was therefore quite fitting that on an intriguing day when thirteen wickets tumbled, two cricketers from the Southern Hemisphere should take centre-stage with the ball, as firstly Michael Hogan claimed 4/36 with a fine display of seam bowling to thwart Essex's attempts to build a sizeable total after opting to bat first, before in the final hour, New Zealander Jesse Ryder grabbed the headlines with two wickets in the space of ten deliveries as Glamorgan ended on 40/3.

Overnight rain and further drizzle this morning delayed the resumption until 12.15pm, with a dozen overs lost and the visitors 239 runs in arrears as Colin Ingram joined his South African colleague Jacques Rudolph. With the floodlights on to augment the conditions, Jesse Ryder completed his over before Jamie Porter resumed at the Hayes Close End. Rudolph sweetly cover drove the first before Ingram drilled the youngster through mid-off for four as rain drops started falling again.

Rudolph brought up the fifty by cover-driving Ryder but two balls later he was bowled by the Kiwi as Glamorgan slipped further to 53/4. Chris Cooke joined Ingram but after two further deliveries, the precipitation intensified and the players left the field

Play resumed at 2.25pm with the floodlights still on and a further 21 overs being shaved off the day's allocation. Chris Cooke began by cover driving Jamie Porter for four but to Jesse Ryder's second delivery he spliced a catch to first slip where Tom Westley held the ball with his arms outstretched above his head. Mark Wallace then edged Porter through second slip for four, before Ingram did the same past third slip against Ryder.


More legitimate boundaries came in Porter's next over as Wallace firstly drilled him through cover point before off-driving him to the ropes as drizzle yet again started to fall. Ingram also on-drove Porter to the mid-wicket ropes before Wallace again despatched Ryder through the covers for four.


Ingram greeted the return of David Masters to the fray by hitting him back over his head for four before Wallace steered Ryder through the slips for four. Dawson at second slip spilled a sharp chance as Ryder again found the edge of Wallace's bat. It didn't prove to be a costly miss as next over Masters had an l.b.w. appeal upheld as Glamorgan lost their sixth wicket on 96.


Craig Meschede joined Ingram and began by playing a pair of booming off-drives for four against Masters but he became another l.b.w. victim for Ryder as a ball jagged back in and rapped him on the pads. Ingram responded by driving Masters straight for four, before later in the over clipping him high over square-leg for six. After Wagg had imperiously straight driven Ryder for an all-run four, Ingram steered his side past the follow-on target by cover driving the Kiwi all-rounder.


Wagg, who is the country's leading six-hitter in first-class cricket, then added another maximum to his tally by planting Masters back over his head, but next ball the veteran seamer made the perfect riposte as Wagg attempted another lusty drive only to miscue the ball to Nick Browne at mid-on. 138/8 then became 138/9 as Masters bowled Ingram as the ball appeared to cannon off his body and onto leg stump.


David Lloyd then clipped Graham Napier for six before on-driving the next delivery for four, as well as swatting a short ball from Masters over the head of cover point. He added another four to his tally as he clipped Masters to deep backward square-leg but next over Napier ended the innings as he bowled Michael Hogan off his pads as Glamorgan ended on 162, with a deficit of 117 runs.

Play resumed in gloomy light at 4.25pm after Glamorgan had been dismissed for 162 and, for the first-time this season, had also failed to secure a batting point in a completed innings. The upshot was that Essex had a first innings lead of 117, and with Jaik Mickleburgh struggling with a back ailment, Nick Browne opened with Liam Dawson, with the latter surviving a sharp chance at first slip in Michael Hogan's opening over.


After five successive maidens, Dawson opened his account by inside-edging Hogan for four before Browne twice clipped Graham Wagg to the ropes at square-leg before cover-driving the left-armer. Craig Meschede duly replaced Wagg at the Hayes Close End and he was cut for four by Browne, but after the fourth consultation between the umpires, the light had become too gloomy and play was suspended for twenty minutes.


Shortly after the resumption, Browne glanced Hogan to fine-leg for four with Andrew Salter's off-spin being introduced soon afterwards. Dawson responded by clipping a full toss to long-on for four before Browne despatched Meschede through mid-off for another four. Dawson brought up the fifty by on-driving Salter for successive fours. Browne also on-drove Salter for four before David Lloyd's seam was introduced in tandem with Wagg's left-arm swing as Essex's lead approached the 200-mark, but the light deteriorated again and the players left the field at 6.20pm on 78/0.