Essex are Glamorgan's next opponents in the LV=County Championship as the Welsh county travel to Chelmsford for the four-day game which is scheduled to start at 11am on Sunday, July 12th.
With the Investec Ashes Test Match coming to a conclusion in Cardiff, Glamorgan are on the road again for their return match with Essex, who they defeated in mid-May by 89 runs at Cardiff. This was the first of four successive victories in the LV=County Championship and hopes of a record fifth were dashed by a rearguard action by Derbyshire's batsmen after they followed-on earlier this week at Chesterfield.
Despite the draw against the Peakites, Glamorgan remain in third place in the Division Two table, twenty points behind second-placed Surrey and with a game in hand over the South London club, as well as being fifty points behind leaders Lancashire who also drew this week against Essex at The Emirates Old Trafford. Glamorgan have two games in hand over the Red Rose county, who they are still to play twice, with the first encounter starting next week at Colwyn Bay when Glamorgan's travels continue with their annual visit to North Wales.
Essex have lost two of their last three home games at Chelmsford - to Gloucestershire and Leicestershire - after a run of thirteen matches without defeat on home soil. Essex returned though to winning ways in their most recent game at their headquarters as they defeated Derbyshire by an innings.
Each of Glamorgan's last two Championship matches at Chelmsford have ended in draws, with last summer's contest at Chelmsford being a rain-affected affair. The contest at Castle Park in Colchester in 2012 also ended all-square, but Essex were the victors in 2011 at Chelmsford as Ravi Bopara posted a match-winning century against an injury-ravaged Glamorgan attack.
The Welsh county's most recent success at Chelmsford came in a quite remarkable contest in 2004, and all after the home side had amassed 642 - the highest-ever total in any first-class game by a side which subsequently lost the contest. In fact, a Glamorgan victory had seemed a very remote prospect as they stuttered to 188-5 in reply on the second day and at one stage looked in danger of being forced to follow-on. But centuries from Matthew Maynard and Robert Croft, plus a career-best 88 from David Harrison saw Glamorgan rally as they ended on 587 to concede a first innings lead of just 55.
When Essex batted for a second time, they were soon in trouble against the pace attack of Simon Jones and Mick Lewis. Their fiery bowling saw Essex dismissed for 165, leaving Glamorgan chasing 221 on the final afternoon. An excellent 83 from David Hemp guided them home after a mid-innings wobble, with the left-hander sharing an unbroken stand of 70 for the seventh wicket with Croft, before hitting the winning runs with 3.4 overs to spare to give Glamorgan a remarkable win and a place in the county record books.
As well as team goals and the promotion race, there is one very important milestone looming for Mark Wallace as he approaches his 1,000th dismissal for Glamorgan 1
st XI in all forms of the game. He enters this match with a tally of 991 victims - 692 in first-class cricket, 78 in Twenty20 and 221 in List A one-day matches.