After Glamorgan had dismissed Sussex for 268 with Craig Meschede taking 4/61, the Welsh county were 126/6 when bad light brought a premature end to the second day of their Specsavers County Championship match at Colwyn Bay, with the home side leading by 152 runs.
Close of Play Report
Glamorgan began the final session on 60/1 with an overall lead of 86 with Owen Morgan and Jack Murphy looking to further improve their team’s position. But it was Sussex who enjoyed the better of the session as their seam bowlers made further inroads with five wickets falling in the space of 11 overs for the addition of 35 runs.
The sequence began 0n 69/2 as Morgan edged Robinson to Chris Jordan at slip before two runs later Jack Murphy was caught behind from a rising delivery from Jordan. Aneurin Donald responded by pulling Robinson for four but with the total on 76 Jordan struck again as Angus Robson took a fine catch diving low to his right to pluck the ball out of an air at backward point. Andrew Salter responded by cover-driving Jordan but with the total on 90 Robinson found the edge of Kiran Carlson’s bat and Ben Brown completed another catch.
Craig Meschede began by clipping Archer through mid-wicket for four but wickets continued to fall in the overcast conditions as Brown completed another catch as Archer found the edge of Andrew Salter’s bat. Meschede then straight drove Jordan after the England bowler switched to the Penrhyn Avenue End before unleashing a sweetly-timed cover drive against Archer.
After being struck on the helmet, Tom Cullen defended stoutly again before clipping Jordan to fine-leg for four, but with the light having deteriorated the players left the field on 126/6 with ten overs remaining. Conditions did not improve and play was called off shortly afterwards.
Teatime Report
Sussex began on 212/8 after lunch as Glamorgan sought the last two wickets with Ruaidhri Smith and Craig Meschede returning in tandem to end the visitors resistance. Ollie Robinson duly on-drove the latter for four before spooning a catch to Lukas Carey at mid-off as Jofra Archer joined his captain on 225/9. But the tail continued to wag as Ben Brown found the ropes again as he punched Smith off the back foot through cover before Jofra Archer square-cut and square-drove Smith for a pair of fours followed by a languid on-drive for four against Meschede as Sussex secured another batting point.
The tenth wicket pair continued to work the ball around, but Meschede finally breached Brown’s defences as the visiting captain was bowled for 77 to give the all-rounder his fourth wicket as Sussex ended on 268. Nick Selman and Owen Morgan began Glamorgan’s second innings with 52 overs remaining in the day’s quota with Selman striking the first boundary as he square-drove Archer for four. He added a second as he off-drove Robinson but with the total on 26, the bowler gained revenge as Selman was bowled.
Jack Murphy got off the mark by clipping Archer to mid-wicket with Morgan also cutting the Bajan square of the wicket for four before straight-driving Robinson for four. He repeated the stroke with some effect as Chris Jordan entered the attack at the Embankment End before flicking the all-rounder off his legs for four to square-leg. Murphy also leg-glanced David Wiese for four shortly before tea as Glamorgan's lead approached the 100-mark
Lunchtime Report
It was a day of contrasting fortunes for Sussex on the North Wales coast yesterday as they began and ended the first day looking like a promotion-seeking team. In between however, it was honours to the young Glamorgan side, containing six Welsh-born players, as Kiran Carlson initially led the fightback with a boundary-laden cameo, full of wristy and sweetly-times blows. Craig Meschede continued the riposte with a cultured 87 during a spirited stand of 108 in 24 hours with the doughty Tom Cullen with their efforts seeing their side end up just a six-hit away from a worthy third batting point.
During the final hour, when bowling a fuller length, Glamorgan’s seam attack claimed a first bowling point as Sussex ended their topsy-turvy day on 79/3 and 215 runs in arrears as play resumed this morning at the Rhos-on-Sea ground in cooler and cloudier conditions. They made further inroads this morning as Ruaidhri Smith struck with the fifth ball of the day as he bowled Angus Robson as the opener shouldered arms.
Chris Nash responded by plundering a trio of boundaries in Michael Hogan’s opening over before Andrew Salter at first slip dropped an edge from Luke Wright in Smith’s second over. But it did not prove too costly a miss as ,with the total on 109, Smith re-arranged Wright’s stumps with a fine delivery. Nash responded again with successive fours through mid-wicket and extra-cover against Hogan, followed by a scooped drive to wide long-on against the red ball captain.
Ben Brown greeted the return of Craig Meschede to the attack by drilling him through the covers but the all-rounder responded by having Nash pouched at second slip by Aneurin Donald as Sussex slipped further to 139/6. Brown then clipped Smith through mid-wicket before Chris Jordan began with a pair of booming off-drives before groping outside off stump at a brace of deliveries from the probing Meschede and then, with the total on 158, being comprehensively bowled by Lukas Carey.
David Wiese began with a flowing cover drive against Meschede before Brown off-drove Carey for four as well as biffing Meschede through the covers for four. But Hogan returned at the Penrhyn Avenue End and removed Wiese who attempted an ambitious drive outside but ended up edging into Cullen’s gloves. 189/8 saw Ollie Robinson join Brown who pulled Hogan for four en route to a 57-ball fifty.