Match drawn at Cardiff with Leicestershire on 204/8

Glamorgan were frustrated yesterday by a combination of heavy downpours of rain, a couple of dropped chances and the greater resistance shown by the Leicestershire top order who on the opening day of this enthralling contest had been blown away inside an hour and a half as the home side fully exploited the bowler-friendly conditions. But it had been a very different story as they batted yesterday in less dank conditions, besides showing greater resolve, and the visitors had reached 168/3 when a prolonged spell of rain ended play for the day an hour after lunch with the East Midlands side trailing the Welsh county by just 73 runs.


The precipitation was still falling this morning when the players arrived, and with it still falling at 10am, and with the covers and protective sheets all across the square, the umpires delayed the start of play. It continued throughout the morning with no play possible as lunch was taken at 12.30pm.

After a blank morning session and an early lunch at 12.30pm, the rains cleared allowing mopping up operations to be completed and for play to get underway at 1.50pm with 62.2 overs remaining in the contest. Angus Robson, who has yet to register a Championship hundred, and Ramnaresh Sarwan, duly resumed the batting with survival paramount in their thoughts as Glamorgan pressed for their second Championship win and a further boost to morale ahead of the opening NatWest T20 Blast match this summer at the SWALEC Stadium.


Jim Allenby and Michael Hogan continued the bowling duties for the Welsh county with a heavy cloud cover above and a lengthy sequence of dot balls being eventually broken by a cut for four by Robson against Allenby. But in the next over Hogan dismissed Sarwan with a fine delivery as Mark Wallace gleefully completed the catch moving to his right in front of the slip cordon.


Robson cover drove Allenby for a pair of two's, before Josh Cobb on-drove Hogan but two balls later he also edged a rising delivery into Wallace's gloves. 181/5 then became 181/6 as Wallace completed his third catch, this time off Allenby and in rather bizarre circumstances as he dived across to his right in an attempt to snaffle an edge from Robson's bat, but the keeper punched the ball onto the boot of Jacques Rudolph at second slip who calmly flicked up the ball with his boot, allowing Wallace to pouch the ball, prone on the ground, at the third attempt as well as leaving the rest of the Glamorgan fielders to congratulate their South African batsman for his footballing skills as a disconsolate Robson trudged off nineteen runs short of a maiden century


The drama continued as with just one run added Wallace completed another catch, this time tumbling down the leg-side - and without the assistance of any keepy-uppy skills by his colleagues - as he safely held an edge from Taylor's bat as Hogan took his third wicket in the space of twenty balls and a cost of just five runs.


Leicestershire's plight did not improve as Allenby switched ends and with his third delivery bowled Anthony Ireland through the gate. With Leicestershire on 182/8 and the cloud cover building over the city skyline, Dean Cosker joined the attack at the River End as Niall O'Brien and Nathan Buck stoutly defended with a gaggle of close catchers.


With the new ball five overs away, Will Bragg also had a trundle, besides running back to his mark as light drizzle returned and conditions became gloomy. Jacques Rudolph also had a few overs of wrist spin with O'Brien pulling a short ball for four before Cosker switched ends as Glamorgan, in the conditions, had to use both spinners rather than take the new ball. Five minutes before tea, the rain increased and the umpires took the players off the field with Leicestershire on 195/8 and a minimum of 33 overs remaining.

Having gone to tea five minutes early because of a heavy shower, the rain soon eased allowing a prompt resumption but with the light not having improved sufficiently for Glamorgan to immediately recall their seamers and take the new ball, so it was Tom Lancefield who resumed at the River End with his left-arm spin and after a single by Nathan Buck, Niall O'Brien off-drove the debutant for four.


After another over from Dean Cosker the light improved slightly and allowed Jim Allenby to return although after ten balls of medium-pace he had to switch to spin mode as the light got gloomy again, and seven overs into the evening session, the umpires took the players off with the East Midlands side on 204/8.


There were, in theory, a hundred minutes of playing time still remaining, but after five minutes or so, rain started to fall and as it quickly intensified, the hover-cover plus all of the protective sheets were brought back onto the square and with no let up in the rain, the umpires abandoned play for the day at 5.25pm with the weather being the only winner of the contest.