Bowlers on top between Glamorgan and Northants

BBC News

16-05-2025

Rothesay County Championship Division Two, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (day one)Northants 185 (65.2 overs): Procter 61; Fernando 3-28, Gorvin 3-36 Glamorgan 82-3 (28 overs): Ul Hassan 25; Conway 2-37Glamorgan (3 pts) trail Northants (1 pt) by 103 runs with seven first-innings wickets standingMatch scorecard
Glamorgan struggled to 82-3 in reply to Northamptonshire's modest effort of 185 all out as the bowlers dominated a slow-scoring first day in Cardiff.The visitors fell apart after being strongly placed on 99-1 at lunch, with Andy Gorvin claiming three top-order wickets and Asitha Fernando also taking three.Northants captain Luke Procter's 61 was the top score by some way as Glamorgan's seamers again got their reward for bowling as a unit, with six wickets going for 35 in early afternoon. But Glamorgan in turn found life tricky with the bat as Australian star Marnus Labuschagne, playing his first innings of a brief two-match stint, fell for nought to compatriot Harry Conway (2-37).
Both sides came into the game on the back of a first win of the campaign and Northants, who included Justin Broad for Liam Guthrie, got off to a solid start partly thanks to a generous helping of leg-byes.Fifty came up in the 14th over before Ricardo Vasconcelos (18) clipped Gorvin to Asa Tribe at leg-gully.Procter was battling bravely despite being hit painfully amidships twice in the first session, and another half-century stand followed with George Bartlett as the visitors passed 100 in the over after lunch.There had been little hint of the mayhem to come before Bartlett, on 20, edged birthday boy James Harris to slip.Timm van der Gugten had James Sales caught behind for nine and Procter, after striking 10 boundaries, eventually fell to Gorvin, caught down leg-side by Chris Cooke once the umpires had made sure the ball carried.Sri Lankan paceman Fernando joined the party, getting some movement with the older ball to remove Saif Zaib and Lewis MacManus, either side of Gorvin sending back Rob Keogh - all to slip catches as the pitch offered just enough to the bowlers. A brief eighth-wicket revival from Broad (23) and Harrison (24) provided token consolation before Zain Ul Hassan, Van der Gugten and Fernando wrapped up the innings in the space of three overs either side of tea.In the process, Sam Northeast claimed his fourth catch of the day while Glamorgan stalwart Van der Gugten reached 300 first-class wickets in his career.Ul Hassan (25) and Tribe started calmly with a stand of 46 before Ul Hassan mistimed a pull shot and dragged a ball from Procter onto his stumps.The much-anticipated arrival of the usually effervescent Labuschagne proved a damp squib as he looked tentative before edging the giant Conway to third slip for a seven-ball duck, with the South Australia quickie following up by forcing Tribe to prod to slip for 18. Northeast and Kiran Carlson, celebrating both his 27th birthday and his 100th first-class appearance, dropped anchor to leave their side marginally in front at the close.