An unbeaten 63 from Jacques Rudolph has helped Glamorgan reach 122/1 when rain ended play for the day shortly after lunch after the Welsh county had been put in to bat by Cardiff MCCU on the first day of their three-day friendly at The SSE SWALEC.
Lunchtime Report
The 2017 first-class season began at 11am after the players and officials had stood in front of the pavilion to observe a minute’s silence in memory of John Derrick, the former Glamorgan player and coach who died last week. After three successive maidens from Andrew Brewster and Ollie Pike, Nick Selman scored the first run of the season by clipping Pike to fine-leg but it was Jacques Rudolph who dominated the early scoring.
The Glamorgan captain twice drove Pike – who given his surname was appropriately bowling at the River End - through the covers for a pair of fours, followed by a square-cut to the ropes. He then ended Brewster’s sequence of 28 dot balls by slashing him just over the head of the fielder at backward point and then next delivery clipping him firmly to the ropes at mid-wicket.
Selman also found the ropes against Pike as he clipped him through square-leg for his first boundary. Kamau Leverock, the Bermudan international, then replaced Pike who switched to the Cathedral Road End and was straight driven and square-cut for successive fours by Selman as the 50 came up in the 18th over. Selman also on-drove Jeremy Lawlor for four, before Rudolph did the same to Leverock, followed by a pair of sweetly-timed off-drives against Lawlor.
Aron Nijjar, the Essex spinner, then had a spell at the River End and was also despatched through the covers by Rudolph. However, with the total on 83, it was Lawlor who made the breakthrough as he trapped Selman l.b.w.for 30. David Lloyd duly joined Rudolph who reached his fifty after two hours of watchful application by steering Nijjar through the covers.
Lloyd opened his account by flicking Leverock to fine-leg for four shortly before bringing up the hundred by leg-glancing the Bermudan for four to fine-leg in the penultimate over before lunch.
Afternoon Update
In the second over after the interval, th light drizzle which had been falling intensified and the players left the field. With the rain still falling at 3.15pm, the umpires decided to take an early at 3.40pm. The rain eased soon afterwards and after initial inspections at 4pm and 5pm, the umpires agreed to look again at 5.45pm. However, conditions had not improved and play was abandoned for the day.