Foxes Under Pressure After Rain-Hit Opening Day

Glamorgan, who started what promises to be an exciting run-in to the Rothesay County Championship just nine points behind leaders Nottinghamshire, hold the upper hand after a stop-start opening day against Leicestershire.

In the 47 overs possible with heavy afternoon showers forcing two long stoppages, they had their bottom-of-the-table opponents struggling at 113 for seven.

Glamorgan’s bowlers were impressively consistent and always threatening, each of the five used taking at least one wicket, Timm van der Gugten finishing with two for 43.

The biggest part of the day’s action was contained in the morning session, which saw Leicestershire toil to 63 for four on a two-tone pitch at Upstonsteel Grace Road, with the ends cut much shorter than the middle section.

It looked much the same as the one on which Leicestershire beat Yorkshire by an innings a month ago to achieve their first win of the season. Glamorgan opted to bowl first.

In an injury-hit line-up, Rishi Patel and Sheridon Gumbs survived batting on it for the first hour but then Patel and new batter Rehan Ahmed departed in consecutive overs, both caught in the slips.

The latter a first victim in Glamorgan colours for Ray Toole, a South African-born left-arm seamer who has joined for the remainder of the campaign following a successful season with Central Districts in New Zealand.

Gumbs, somewhat comically run out after changing direction twice after chancing an always-risky single to gully, was the next casualty, before Hamza Shaikh - on his Championship debut for Leicestershire - feathered a catch behind against Ben Kelleway’s off-spin.

Thereafter, rain limited play to three sessions, two of them of just three overs each. The second of them was enough for Leicestershire to lose their fifth wicket as Nick Kelly edged behind.

The players were off the field for the best part of four hours in total but with the playing time extended by half an hour, another 12 overs were possible before the close.

Glamorgan’s bowling was as consistently testing as it had been all day and claimed another success as a full delivery from Andy Gorvin pinned Jonny Tattersall in front, before Ben Mike was caught behind with two balls left in the day.

Glamorgan - promoted as runners-up to Leicestershire in Division Two last season - have fared much the better of the two in Division One, starting this round in fourth place, the least expected of the Championship contenders.

They last won the still-coveted first-class title in 1997 and since the competition adopted a two-division format in 2000 have never survived more than one season in the top flight.

But victory over Surrey - the Championship’s dominant force until last season - in their most recent red-ball action demands that their challenge be taken seriously.

They sit 35 points ahead of Leicestershire, who nonetheless hope the morale-boosting win over Yorkshire - coupled with an outstanding performance to reach next month’s final in the Metro Bank One-Cup - will spark a relegation-defying end to their campaign.