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Day One Glamorgan 241 Northamptonshire 85-0
Steven Crook took four wickets as Northamptonshire controlled the first day of their LV= County Championship match against Glamorgan at Wantage Road.
After being put in on a grassy wicket, Glamorgan batted poorly despite a bright start as they were bowled out for 241, with all-rounder Crook picking up four for 66.
David Willey also kept up his rich run of form by claiming three for 54 before promotion-chasing Northants closed on 85 for no wicket as they look for their first win in six matches in this competition.
Northants won the toss and opted to bowl but Glamorgan’s opening pair of Gareth Rees and Will Bragg frustrated their attack with a stand of 74.
Bragg was dropped on 28 by Alex Wakely at square leg off the bowling of Crook, but Rees was dismissed for 39 in the 23rd over when he edged Andrew Hall to David Sales at second slip.
Bragg then followed on 32 three overs later when he nudged a super delivery from Crook to Northants wicketkeeper David Murphy as Glamorgan reached lunch on 96 for two.
Chris Cooke plundered 21 before gifting Crook his second wicket when, having lost his bearings, his bat clipped his off stump and knocked the bails off.
Willey then picked up the prized wicket of Murray Goodwin with the former Zimbabwe international on 47 when he glanced a leg side delivery to Murphy.
History then repeated itself with the very next ball, although Murphy deserved credit for holding on when diving to his right to dismiss Glamorgan captain and wicketkeeper Mark Wallace.
Graham Wagg (13) went cheaply when his loose drive off Willey was brilliantly taken at point by a plunging Wakely, who atoned for his earlier howler.
Hall then caught John Glover (four) at first slip after Murphy’s fumble off the bowling of Crook before Andrew Salter (one) shanked the same bowler to Northants captain Stephen Peters at mid-off.
Trent Copeland got in on the act in the third over after tea when Jim Allenby was taken by Murphy after making 41 before the same combination did for Michael Reed (one) to close the visitors’ innings.
In reply, Northants openers Peters and James Middlebrook began just as confidently as their Glamorgan counterparts had done at the start of the day.
They were to see off the 21 overs they faced without any alarm and will resume the second day on 39 and 38 respectively.
Preview
Glamorgan travel to the East Midlands to meet Northamptonshire in the LV=County Championship Division Two starting on Wednesday.
Glamorgan won by three wickets when they visited Northampton last summer, with a composed innings by Jim Allenby, plus a breezy knock by John Glover, seeing the Welsh county home as they successfully chased a stiff target of 351 on the final day of the contest
This was Glamorgan’s first Championship success at Northampton since 2003 and ended a sequence of four heavy defeats in their previous six visits to the Wantage Road.
The two sides have already met each other this year in Championship cricket with the contest at the Swalec Stadium back on April 10 ending in a draw after Graham Wagg and Mike Reed had each claimed three wickets in the Northants first innings following Glamorgan’s dismissal for just 134.
Toss and Team News
Northamptonshire won the toss and elected to bowl.
With Michael Hogan being rested, Glamorgan included Mike Reed and John Glover alongside Graham Wagg and spin duo Dean Cosker and Andrew Salter, with Ben Wright dropped from the side who beat Leicestershire in Swansea last week.
Northamptonshire: S Peters (capt), J Middlebrook, D Sales, A Wakely, B Duckett, A Hall, D Willey, S Crook, T Copeland, D Murphy, M Azharullah.
Glamorgan: W Bragg, G Rees, M Goodwin, C Cooke, J Allenby, M Wallace (capt), J Glover, G Wagg, A Salter, D Cosker, M Reed.
