A watchful century by Ian Bell helped Warwickshire make 250 on the second day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Glamorgan at Edgbaston after a fine performance in the field by the youthful visiting side with Lukas Carey taking 3/56, and Timm van der Gugten 4/54. Facing a first innings deficit of 30, Glamorgan were 55/0 at the close.
Evening Update
Warwickshire were just eleven runs in arrears when play resumed after tea with Glamorgan taking the new ball as Timm van der Gugten and Lukas Carey briefly returned to the fray. After stout defence before tea, Chris Wright opened his shoulders to drive van der Gugten to the ropes at mid-wicket. Bell also glanced the Dutchman to the ropes at fine-leg. Salter then returned at the City End and resumed his frugal mode as the eighth wicket pair continued to frustrate the visitors.
After almost six hours at the crease, Bell completed his hundred by edging Salter for two to third man - his 244th delivery – but with the total on 242 he lost his partner as van der Gugten switched to the City End and removed Wright with an in-swinging delivery which rapped him on the pads and saw the umpire uphold the appeal. Bell responded by cover-driving Salter for four but with the total on 250, Henry Brookes also departed l.b.w. to van der Gugten before next ball Josh Poysden edged the Dutchman into the gully where Salter completed the catch.
Facing a deficit of 30, Nick Selman began Glamorgan’s second innings by glancing Brookes to fine-leg for four before off-driving him to the boards in front of the pavilion. Jack Murphy also swatted Brookes for four through backward point before Jeetan Patel came into the attack, with Murphy clipping his second delivery to mid-wicket before Selman flicked another delivery to the ropes at square-leg.
An on-drive for three by Selman against Wright saw the arrears wiped out before the opener dispatched him through point for four as well as nonchalantly clipping him to square-leg. Murphy then brought up the fifty by driving Poysden for four as Glamorgan ended the day on 55/0.
Afternoon Report
Warwickshire began the session on 131/4 with Bell completing his patient fifty from 134 balls, by steering Salter into the covers for two. Tim Ambrose opened his account by cover-driving the off-spinner before Bell plundered fours through point and mid-wicket in Timm van der Gugten’s next over. With salter keeping things tight at the Pavilion End, Ambrose greeted the return of Carey at the City End by steering him through point for four, but two overs later he tried to repeat the stroke only to edge the ball to second slip where Nick Selman completed a superb one-handed catch to his left.
His athletic efforts prompted the clatter of further wickets as 164/5 became 164/6 as Carey ended an exemplary over by bowling Keith Barker with a delivery that torpedoed into his stumps. Nine runs later Salter struck again as Jeetan Patel drilled a ball straight back to the spinner. Chris Wright began with a series of singles whilst Bell – who has never scored a Championship hundred against Glamorgan - continued his steady accumulation to whittle away further at the deficit.
Wright then ended Salter’s sequence of dots and one’s, by driving him to long-off for four as Warwickshire closed in on erasing the deficit.
Lunchtime Report
Twelve wickets tumbled on the opening day of this contest, including seven to the home spinners who found generous assistance from the worn surface used on Thursday evening for Warwickshire’s final group game in the Royal London One-Day Cup. The visiting spinners have a chance today to make their mark, especially Andrew Salter who spent the winter in New Zealand working with Jeetan Patel, the wily home captain. Patel has over 750 first-class wickets to his name, plus 78 international appearances, and any tips that the sorcerer gave to the apprentice during the off-season - plus all of the sage advice from Glamorgan’s coaching staff - may prove to be invaluable this morning as the Welsh county look to make further inroads after Warwickshire’s indifferent start last night.
But it was the seamers who took centre-stage when play began at 11am with Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott resuming with their side on 24/2, still 196 runs in arrears. Timm van der Gugten and Lukas Carey resumed the bowling duties with the former being clipped to square-leg by Trott for the day’s first boundary before just clearing the head of mid-wicket next over as he found the ropes again. He then square-drove the Dutchman for another boundary before pulling him square, as well as edging Carey just wide of gully.
Whilst Trott was the more aggressive, Bell dropped anchor but he found the ropes as he clipped Carey to square-leg. Ruaidhri Smith and David Lloyd then had a spell in tandem with Bell edging Lloyd for four to third man. Trott then off-drove Smith for four before, once again, driving him just beyond the arms of gully. Bell added another high-class four to his tally as he cover-drove Lloyd before Trott completed his fifty from 81 balls.
After seventy minutes play, Salter re-appeared at the Pavilion End whilst Smith continued at the City End and was cover driven by Trott for another high-class four but it proved to be his final scoring stroke as he departed in Salter’s next over as a smart piece of fielding by Lloyd at mid-wicket saw Trott run out as he tried to scamper a single. 99/3 saw Sam Hain join Bell and he began by cover-driving Smith whilst Bell struck successive deliveries from Salter to extra cover and mid-off for four.
Shortly before lunch, Owen Morgan then replaced Smith and was driven through mid-off by Hain who then on-drove Salter for four. But in the penultimate over before the break Salter removed Hain as he drilled a ball back to the bowler who dived full length to his left to pouch the ball, inches above the turf.