Leicestershire Seize Control as Glamorgan Collapse on Bowler-Friendly Pitch

With runs at a premium on a bowler-friendly pitch, a Leicestershire lead of 78 with eight second-innings wickets in hand looked a valuable commodity at the halfway point of their Rothesay County Championship clash with  Glamorgan.

Some 15 wickets fell on day two at Uptonsteel Grace Road with Glamorgan claiming a first-innings lead of just one run after Mason Crane, who made 99 against Leicestershire earlier in the season and recorded his maiden century in Glamorgan’s victory over Surrey in the last round, top-scored with 44.

Skipper Ian Holland (4-30) and fellow all-rounder Ben Mike (4-38) were the pick of the Leicestershire bowlers as Glamorgan, the unexpected title contenders, were dismissed for 152 in reply to the home side’s 151.

Leicestershire, still hopeful of gathering enough points to avoid relegation in the six matches that remain of a closely-contested Division One season, were 79 for two at the close.

Earlier, with still plenty for the seamers in a pitch on which they would have almost certainly bowled first, Leicestershire added 38 to their 113 for seven overnight before they were bowled out in the 63rd over.

The Glamorgan seam attack, impressive on day one, picked up where they had left off. Andy Gorvin (two for 51) removed Ian Holland with his first delivery when he came on as first change at the pavilion end before Toole, switching to the Bennett End, raised his debut haul to three wickets.

The left-armer nipped one back to bowl Ajaz Patel and made another delivery jump to have Tom Scriven caught at first slip.

Yet there was scarcely time to appreciate Glamorgan’s achievements with the ball before they had fallen into even greater difficulties with the bat than the home side.

On what was clearly a difficult surface, cut short at the ends with a grassy middle, the title contenders lost Zain Ul-Hassan, who edged a sharp, low catch to third slip, and Kiran Carlson, caught behind cutting, to be 25 for two from 12 overs at lunch.

Eight overs into the afternoon, they were five down for 51 after Ben Mike, a talented but unpredictable cricketer, took three wickets in 11 balls, bowling Asa Tribe with a peach of a delivery before having Ben Kelleway caught behind with another ball that climbed off a length and rapping Colin Ingram on the front pad.

When the deserving Ian Holland had Chris Cooke caught behind off a thin outside edge, Glamorgan were in deep trouble, six wickets surrendered and still 96 runs adrift.

Crane and Sean Dickson stemmed the tide of wickets for an hour or so, adding 42 in the biggest partnership of the match to that point, but when Mike returned, Dickson was struck on the helmet and well caught at backward point in the space of four deliveries. With Ajaz Patel immediately finding some turn and then dismissing Timm van der Gugten with one that went with the arm, Glamorgan were 117 for eight at tea.

That it took Leicestershire more than an hour after tea to pick off the last two wickets was almost entirely down to Crane, the legspinner, who hardly mastered the conditions but showed that dogged resistance was possible.

He had toughed it out for two hours and 10 minutes when Holland, who had removed Gorvin in his previous over, trapped him on the crease to end the Glamorgan innings.

In the 17.3 overs more that were possible before bad light curtained play on an extended day after Thursday’s rain interruptions, Leicestershire lost Rishi Patel caught at mid-on after an aggressive 26 off 23 balls that included two sixes, after which Rehan Ahmed could do little about the ball from Ray Toole that bowled him for 15.

But Sheridon Gumbs, patient at first, reeled off some high-quality shots in reaching 33 not out, putting his side in what looks potentially like a strong position.