Glamorgan lead by 125 runs with 7 wickets remaining at Leicester

To borrow a phrase from football, it had been a game of two halves yesterday as firstly Leicestershire's bowlers claimed seven wickets for 219 runs before their batsmen plundered 202 runs for the loss of a solitary wicket. The change in circumstances was largely caused by the dissipation of the cloud cover which had assisted the home attack, and their swing bowlers, after taking the new ball early in the morning session, whilst during the afternoon and evening session, Glamorgan's bowlers, under clear skies, failed to deliver as consistent a line or length.


Nevertheless, the home side were still 311 runs in arrears when play began this morning with much talk surrounding Leicestershire's likely tactics and whether they would try to gain parity with Glamorgan, or declare behind after securing a full clutch of batting points. But runs were much harder to come by this morning as Andy Carter and Craig Meschede resumed the bowling with each starting with a maiden, besides beating the bat on several occasions in a more probing spell than last night.


Meschede's accuracy was rewarded with a maiden Championship wicket for the Welsh county as with just a couple of runs having been added to the overnight total, he sent Angus Robson's off stump cartwheeling out of the ground with the batsman - who has passed 80 nine times for the East Midlands county but has only one century to his name - departing for 83.


204/2 saw Mark Cosgrove make his way to the middle and the new Leicestershire captain was swiftly into his stride as he clipped Carter to the ropes at mid-wicket. The tall fast bowler nearly gained reward as a couple of overs later he nearly ran out Cosgrove as Eckersley called for a scampered single.


Soon afterwards, Wagg replaced Carter and was cover driven for three by Cosgrove before Eckersley edged the left-armer through a vacant third slip. The frugal Dean Cosker also entered the fray at the Pavilion End and after a series of dot balls, he was driven through mid-off by Cosgrove. Eckersley then completed his hundred from 178 balls by glancing Wagg to fine-leg for four as Leicestershire also secured a second batting point.


Eckersley was then nearly snared by Cosker at short-leg as James Kettleborough almost held onto a leg-side drive. Cosgrove then showed that there is plenty of finesse as well as ferocity in his stroke-play as he deftly nurdled Wagg to third man for four. David Lloyd duly replaced Wagg shortly before lunch with his opening over conceding two runs and 12 extras, with four leg-byes and eight byes as a trio of deliveries disappeared down the leg-side well out of Mark Wallace's grasp behind the stumps. However, he soon got his radar right and shortly before the interval he bowled Cosgrove for 33 as Glamorgan secured their first bowling point.

Leicestershire resumed after lunch on 296/3 with Ned Eckersley having been joined shortly before the interval by Neil Pinner who, like another batsman whose surname begins with P has a century to his name this season against student bowling. But his stay at the crease proved to be an all too brief one, as he was bowled by Cosker with the final ball of the 80^th over.


The new ball was immediately taken with Carter returning to the attack as Niall O'Brien joined Eckersley and survived a loud appeal for l.b.w. Craig Meschede also returned at the Pavilion End and was pulled for four by Eckersley before he was cover driven by O'Brien. The latter also despatched Wagg through the covers when he returned at the Bennett End for a brief spell with the new ball.


The parsimonious Cosker also resumed at the Pavilion End before Meschede replaced Wagg with Leicestershire on 356/4. But in the space of three balls it became 356/6 as both Eckersley and Tom Wells edged to Cosker at second slip as they fenced at rising deliveries from the on-loan all-rounder. Wagg then returned and found the edge of Ben Raine's bat as the ball sped away to the vacant third man position

Resuming after tea on 399/6 from 111 over, Niall O'Brien completed his half-century in the first over after the interval as he cover drove Dean Cosker for four. Andy Carter returned at the Bennett End and in his second over he clean bowled Ben Raine as Leicestershire lost their seventh wicket on 411. O'Brien responded by drilling Cosker to the ropes at mid-wicket but Carter struck again as Ollie Freckingham edged the tall paceman into Cosker's safe hands at second slip.


Carter then claimed another wicket as he bowled Shreck before O'Brien, with Atif Sheikh as his final partner, bludgeoned Carter over mid-wicket for six. But after the Irishman secured another single, Carter bowled Sheikh to end the innings and complete a waspish spell of 4/16 from 21 balls in the post-tea session.

Glamorgan had 20 overs to face before the close with James Kettleborough and Jacques Rudolph facing the new ball pairing of Sheikh and Raine. Both batsmen were quickly into their stride as Kettleborough sweetly cover-driving Sheikh for four in the opening over, before Rudolph languidly clipped Raine to the ropes at mid-wicket.


Charlie Shreck then entered the attack at the Bennett End and in his third over he removed Kettleborough as he edged a ball into the wicket-keeper's gloves. 35/1 saw Will Bragg join his captain and he too was soon working the ball around. Tom Wells then replaced Raine at the Pavilion End and in his first over he removed Rudolph who fell to a fine catch diving down the leg-side by O'Brien after the Glamorgan captain had played an authentic leg-glance.


45/2 then became 47/3 as Shreck trapped Bragg leg before, leaving Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke to see Glamorgan through to the close.