Surrey reach 121/0 at the end of day one at Colwyn Bay

This is the opening day of the North Wales Festival of County Cricket, organised and overseen by Conwy County Borough Council and Colwyn Bay CC, and after the rain and low cloud on Friday night at the SWALEC Stadium in Glamorgan's previous match, there was plenty of blue sky and sunshine over the Rhos-on-Sea ground greeting players, officials and supporters alike after their journeys from South Wales and the South-east of England, as well as from other points of the compass, with the Festival at the pretty ground on the North Wales coast attracting many cricket supporters from other parts of the country.

Surrey are making their first appearance in Championship cricket in North Wales, having previously played the Welsh county at their grounds in Cardiff, plus the out-grounds in Swansea, Neath and Pontypridd, as well as their Carmarthenshire outpost in Llanelli, and in Monmouthshire at Ebbw Vale. Surrey also ventured to Cresselly in 2007 as Glamorgan took their Friends Provident Trophy match to the Pembrokeshire ground, so they can now add Denbighshire to their list of Championship venues in Wales. However, a Surrey XI played a Benefit Match here in 1947 as part of the Colwyn Bay Cricket Festival, and in a throwback to past times in county cricket, the Surrey squad and support staff travelled yesterday to the North Wales coast by train from London Euston to Llandudno.

Glamorgan made two changes to their line-up from the side which lost last week at Worcester with Murray Goodwin and Will Owen returning in place of Tom Lancefield and Andrew Salter, with Will Bragg and Jacques Rudolph opening the batting as Matthew Dunn and Chris Tremlett took the new ball. After three maidens, Rudolph scored the opening run with a drive to mid-off against Tremlett, who later in the over was also driven for four in the same area by Bragg. The tall bowler though made the initial breakthrough as with the last ball of his fourth over, and the total on 14, he bowled Rudolph.

This was the first of three wickets to tumble in the space of eight balls as Tom Curran had Bragg caught by Vikram Solanki at first slip after the ball had been parried to him by Jason Roy at second slip. Two deliveries later, Tremlett trapped Ben Wright leg before as Surrey claimed their first bowling point after just forty minutes had elapsed.

Chris Cooke and Murray Goodwin looked to steady the ship as the latter leg-glanced Tremlett for four, before the former clipped Dunn to mid-wicket and backward square-leg in successive balls when the seamer switched to the Penrhyn Avenue End. But the clouds which had been building up from the direction of the Great Orme then deposited their load over the Rhos-on-Sea ground as rain stopped play with Glamorgan on 32/3 in the 14^th over.

It proved though only to be a short stoppage as play resumed at 12.20pm with no overs lost with Cooke clipping Curran to square-leg for four. But three balls later Goodwin under-edged a cut stroke against Curran with a diving Gary Wilson gleefully pouching the ball in front of the slip cordon. With Jim Allenby as his new partner, Cooke then punched Curran off the back foot through extra cover and backward point for a pair of well-timed boundaries,

Allenby opened his account by cover driving Dunn for a coruscating four, before edging him past third slip next delivery, and three balls later he deftly glanced the youngster to fine-leg. Allenby then swatted Curran square of the wicket for four before Tremlett returned to the attack shortly before the interval.

The Welsh county were 81/4 at lunch and in the second over after the interval Jim Allenby clipped Chris Tremlett behind square-leg for four, before Chris Cooke did the same to Tom Curran. However, two balls later the umpire upheld an l.b.w. appeal from Curran against Cooke as Glamorgan slipped to 92/5 n the 29^th over

Mark Wallace twice clipped Tremlett through mid-wicket as the Welsh county reached 100 in the 29^th over before the Glamorgan captain drilled the tall bowler through mid-off for four. Allenby then greeted the return of Matthew Dunn by twice square-driving him for four, followed by a rasping cover drive for a further boundary, and then a thick outside edge through the slips. He then despatched Tremlett through extra cover for another glorious four whilst Wallace clipped Dunn to backward square-leg for four, followed by another on-drive.

Allenby completed a 47-ball fifty by pulling Curran for four but with the total on 146, Wallace edged Dunn and was caught behind. Ruaidhri Smith duly cut Curran for four before Allenby swatted another four when Dunn dropped short again. Smith also on-drove Curran but on 161 he edged the seamer to third slip.

Allenby savagely pulled Curran for four before Owen drilled Curran through extra cover with Surrey then deploying the left-arm spin of Zafar Ansari after 44 overs of seam. However, it was the return of Tremlett at the Penrhyn Avenue End that ended Allenby's innings as on 69 he edged the seamer to second slip.

182/8 saw Dean Cosker join Owen who deployed the long handle to whack Ansari to wide mid-on and long-leg, before Cosker clipped Tremlett to square-leg and mid-off for successive fours. Owen then brought up the 200 by cover-driving Curran followed by a nonchalant clip to despatch Tremlett to square-leg. Cosker unfurled a high-class on-drive against Curran but then was bowled by Tremlett who next over ended the innings as he had Michael Hogan caught at short extra cover.

Having dismissed Glamorgan in the final over before tea, Rory Burns and Zafar Ansari began Surrey's response with the former clipping Michael Hogan's first ball through mid-wicket for four. Ansari also cut Ruaidhri Smith for four in his opening over but after these early blows the new ball pairing settled on a probing line.

The sequence of dot balls was ended by successive fours through mid-wicket by Burns against Hogan, before Ansari edged Smith almost into Allenby's hands at first slip. The left-hander then drilled Smith through extra cover for four before greeting Jim Allenby by square-driving him for four.

Burns clipped Allenby to mid-wicket and extra-cover before Ansari cover drove the all-rounder, with Dean Cosker then entering the attack in the 25^th over. The spinner was on-driven by Burns before Ansari square-drove him for another boundary, whilst an off-drive by Burns saw the Surrey opener reach 50 from 79 balls. Ansari then guided Hogan through backward point for four before Burns swept Cosker for four to see Surrey to the 100-mark in the 27^th over.

Ansari completed his patient fifty - from 131 balls - shortly before the close of what has definitely been a good day for the visiting side.