Wagg's unbeaten century helps Glamorgan to 323/8 at Guildford

The maxim that Patience is a virtue was no better illustrated than yesterday at the Woodbridge Road ground as Zafar Ansari and Arul Harinath took Surrey to 199/0 at tea, before a dramatic evening session saw the home batsmen rather fritter away a decent position as they lost six wickets for 81 runs in the space of 28.3 overs. Whereas Ansari watchfully accumulated, going 50 overs without hitting a boundary, some of his later colleagues seemed almost in Twenty20 mode as they perished in quick succession playing a series of expansive strokes.


With Graham Wagg claiming two wickets last night in the closing overs after the new ball had been taken, Glamorgan were looking to quickly polish off the rest of the Surrey innings. Events started as they would have wished as Michael Hogan, with his third delivery of the morning trapped Ansari leg before. 291/7 then became 294/8 as Wagg also had an appeal for leg before upheld against Gareth Batty. Gary Wilson cover drove Wagg for four before Tom Curran off-drove Hogan as Surrey secured another batting point.


The ninth wicket pair then continued the counter-attack as Curran struck Wagg through mid-off for another defiant four before clobbering him over mid-on for three. He then off-drove Hogan for four before Wilson pulled Hogan for four as batting conditions seemed to ease as the earlier cloud cover dissipated and warm sunshine bathed the Festival venue.


Indeed, Curran off-drove Craig Meschede when he entered the attack at the Railway End but he almost departed to David Lloyd's first delivery of the day at the Pavilion End as he scythed a ball almost into Will Bragg's hands on the cover boundary. Curran celebrated his good fortune by steering the next two balls for four. But in his next over, Lloyd ended the stand as Curran sparred at a rising ball and edged to Jacques Rudolph at second slip.


With Chris Tremlett as his final partner, Wilson glanced Meschede to fine-leg for four. Tremlett then edged Lloyd through the slips for four before using the long handle in Andrew Salter's first over as he lofted the spinner to long-off for four before next over depositing him over wide long-on and long-off for a pair of sixes. He then nonchalently clipped Lloyd to square-leg for four.


Tremlett duly saw Surrey to 400 in the 119^th over before Wagg and Hogan returned to the fray in a bid to end Surrey's resistance. It did the trick as in Wagg's second over Tremlett drove uppishly to Meschede at mid-off.

Jacques Rudolph and Will Bragg opened Glamorgan's first innings after the visiting bowlers had polished off Surrey's resistance before lunch. However, after their efforts earlier with the bat, Tom Curran and Tim Tremlett continued to enjoy their day at the Woodbridge Road ground as they soon made inroads into the Welsh county's batting. Rudolph began by square-cutting Curran for four before Bragg drove the same bowler through the covers for another four. But later in Curran's over Bragg edged a rising delivery into Gary Wilson's gloves as Glamorgan lost their first wicket in the fourth over.


14/1 saw Ben Wright join Rudolph, who glanced Tremlett to fine-leg for four before Wright cover drove Curran to the ropes. But in Tremlett's next over Wright edged the tall seamer to first slip where Vikram Solanki held a low catch. With the scoreboard reading 25/2 Colin Ingram made his way to the middle at the ground where he had played in the local leagues a few years ago. But six balls later the board was reading 25/3 as Rudolph inside-edged Curran onto his stumps.


Five runs later, Chris Cooke also played onto his stumps as he tried to leave alone a rising ball from Tremlett as Craig Meschede, promoted up the order after his recent batting performances, joined Ingram. The latter played a booming off-drive against Curran before Meschede greeted the appearance of Stuart Meaker by twice despatching him through the covers and backward point for four. But Meaker responded next over by finding the edge of Meschede's bat as Glamorgan, in increasingly humid and overcast conditions, slipped to 54/5.


Ingram was joined by Mark Wallace and defiantly pulled Curran for six before striking Meaker for four from three successive deliveries in an arc from backward point to mid-on. Ingram also cover-drove and on-drove Meaker for further boundaries in the bowler's next over as the hundred came up in the 21^st over. But Ingram then edged Aneesh Kapil into the hands of Vikram Solanki at first slip.


106/6 saw Graham Wagg arrive at the crease and straight-drove and cover drove Kapil for a pair of fours, before clipping the seamer through mid-wicket and mid-on for two more fours in the over. Tremlett then returned and had Wallace dropped at mid-on, before the grateful wicket-keeper on-drove him for another boundary. Wagg then continued to plunder fours against Kapil as he clipped him through mid-wicket before Wallace square-drove the all-rounder for another four.


Wallace then upper-cut Tremlett over the head of the slip cordon before Wagg brought up the fifty stand by pulling and square-driving successive balls from Curran who had returned at the Railway End. Wallace then swept Gareth Batty's first delivery for four before cover-driving the third with Zafar Ansari also entered the attack shortly before tea as Surrey opted for an all-spin attack. Wagg greeted the left-armer by despatching him through the covers for four, before Wallace reverse-swept Ansari. Wagg also lofted him over long-on before Wallace completed a 58-ball fifty by sweeping Batty before three balls later Wagg followed suit from 40 deliveries.

In the penultimate over of the session, Wagg classically off-drove Batty for four to give Glamorgan their first batting point.

Resuming after tea on 209/6, Graham Wagg straight drove Chris Tremlett for four in the first over of the session. Wallace then square-cut the seamer for four before upper cutting him high over the slip cordon, followed shortly afterwards by a reverse-sweep against Ansari for four. Wagg also harpooned Ansari nearly onto the railway embankment for a massive six before Wallace reverse-swept the left-arm spinner to bring up the 150-run stand and help Glamorgan avoid the follow-on.


It looked as if their doughty efforts might break the Club's record for the 7^th wicket against Surrey made by Mike Llewellyn and Malcolm Nash who added 171 at The Oval in 1976. But Curran replaced Tremlett at the Pavilion End and ended the stand which had added 152 in 26.3 overs as he trapped Wallace l.b.w. for 92. David Lloyd was soon into his stride driving Curran through the covers for four before Wagg drilled both Curran and Meaker through mid-off.


An overthrow for four saw Wagg move into the nineties before he scythed the bowler through backward point for another boundary. Lloyd added two fours to the total as he bludgeoned Curran through the covers, before Wagg completed his third first-class hundred with a dab into the leg-side from his 99^th delivery. Lloyd then brought up the 300 by drilling Meaker through mid-wicket for another rasping four.


Wagg greeted the return of Aneesh Kapil by clipping him through mid-wicket but as at Colwyn Bay last year, the introduction of Arul Harinath's occasional medium-pace resulted in a wicket as Lloyd chipped a drive into mid-on's hands with Glamorgan losing their eighth wicket on 310. An obdurate Andrew Salter duly joined Wagg with a dozen overs remaining, with the pair blocking out the closing overs with the centurion equalling his career-best score in the final over of the day.