Leicestershire were 297/6 when bad light stopped play on the second evening of their Specsavers County Championship match against Glamorgan at The SSE SWALEC, trailing the home side by 52 runs (writes Andrew Hignell).
Evening Update
Leicestershire resumed after tea on 242/5 with Michael Hogan and Craig Meschede trying to make further inroads into the visitor’s line-up. Niall O’Brien and Wayne White accumulated at first in singles as they garnered a second batting point. Graham Wagg then re-appeared in slow mode and was slapped through the covers by White, whilst O’Brien flicked him for three to fine-leg. White also on-drove David Lloyd for three before O’Brien brought up the fifty stand by drilling Lloyd through extra-cover.
The new ball was taken after 80 overs with Leicestershire on 280/5, but within five balls it had become 280/6 as Wagg found the edge of O’Brien’s bat with Mark Wallace completing a regulation catch. Ben Raine announced his arrival with a cover driven four against Wagg as the light started to deteriorate with the umpires having several conversations before taking the players off at 5.40pm with Leicestershire on 296/8. After twenty minutes, the players returned but only for nine balls and another single, before the light deteriorated again, and with no improvement, the umpires called off play at 6.25pm.
Teatime update
David Lloyd’s two wickets in four balls before lunch had reduced Leicestershire to 99/3 at lunch with Niall O’Brien joining Paul Horton as Mark Pettini who had been unwell yesterday was unable to bat until number 7. Horton reached his fifty – from 108 balls – with a pair of dabs to third man against Lloyd. He then celebrated by on-driving Lloyd before O’Brien greeted the return of Meschede by twice square-driving the all-rounder
Having been dropped on 19 and 29, Horton literally had another slice of good fortune as he inside-edged a drove against Graham Wagg perilously close to his leg stump, but his luck finally ran out next over as he was trapped l.b.w. by Meschede with Leicestershire slipping to 142/4. O’Brien responded by on-driving Wagg as well as nearly hooking the left-armer into the hands of fine-leg with the ball just evading the outstretched hands of a diving Michael Hogan.
There was nothing fortuitous about O’Brien’s next four as he imperiously off-drove Meschede before clipping him to mid-wicket. He then greeted the return of Hogan by cover-driving the Australian as well as on-driving Lloyd, en route to a 57-ball fifty. With Pettini in obdurate mode, the Irishman guided Leicestershire to their first batting point in the 54th over and followed this up with a cover drive against van der Gugten. But with the total on 224, the Dutch international claimed his maiden Championship wicket as he trapped Pettini leg before.
Shortly before tea, Graham Wagg has a brief spell of left-arm spin and as the players departed to the Pavilion, Chris Cooke was presented with his county cap by Glamorgan’s newly appointed President Alan Jones
Lunchtime Report
The opening day of this contest had been something of a topsy-turvy one, with Glamorgan the loss of early wickets, a partial recovery before another blip, prior to David Lloyd and Graham Wagg added 98 in 23 overs to kick start a recovery and wrest the initiative away from the visitors for whom Clint McKay came within a wicket of a career-best performance. Given the lateral movement and early swing, Glamorgan were satisfied to be close to four batting points and with chilly conditions and a “fifty shades of grey” skyline, their bowlers were eager for early wickets as play resumed with Leicestershire on 15/0.
Michael Hogan and Craig Meschede resumed the bowling duties, and soon found the outside edge of Paul Horton’s bat as the ball flew through the slip cordon before the batsman twice firmly drove him through mid-off. Meschede also delivered a probing spell before also being off-driven by Horton, although in his fourth over, Angus Robson survived a sharp head-high chance at third slip as he got a thick outside edge to a rising delivery outside off-stump.
Timm van der Gugten replaced Hogan at the Cathedral Road End. And also found the outside edge of Horton’s bat, but the ball bisected first slip and wicket-keeper and sped away for four runs. Will Bragg, at first slip, then dropped another low outside edge from Horton in Meschede’s sixth over of what was becoming a frustrating morning.
Graham Wagg then had a spell at the Cathedral Road End and also beat the outside edge of both opener’s bats, before being cover driven and guided to third man by Horton who, after his earlier escapes, appeared to be growing in confidence in the tundra-like conditions. Robson also struck successive deliveries from Wagg to third man and mid-wicket, but he perished in Hogan’s next over as Jacques Rudolph took a fine one-handed catch to his right at second slip.
89/1 saw Neil Dexter make his way to the crease shortly before a five-minute delay after Horton was struck a blow on the helmet by a rising ball from Wagg. Van der Gugten and Lloyd then had spells prior to lunch, with the latter striking with his second delivery as Dexter was superbly caught at backward point by a diving Aneurin Donald. Then with his fifth ball, Mark Cosgrove edged to Mark Wallace as Leicestershire went to lunch on 99/3.