Glamorgan pegged back by Gloucestershire pair

A SEVENTH-wicket stand of 96 between James Bracey (57) and Zaman Akhter (58) gives Gloucestershire hope at the end of a hard-fought and fluctuating opening day in the Rothesay County Championship Division Two clash with Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens.

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Glamorgan looked to have taken complete control of proceedings shortly after tea with leg-spinner Mason Crane (3-55) ripping through the visitors’ middle-order, but Gloucestershire’s early evening counterpunch ensures that at 279-7 they have a foothold in this absorbing contest.

Having asked the visitors to bat beneath cloudy skies Glamorgan’s seamers failed to threaten in the early exchanges as Gloucestershire’s openers, Cameron Bancroft and Joe Phillips, serenely progressed to a half-century partnership midway through the morning session.

It was a masterclass in low-risk batting, the pair expertly rotating the strike and simply waiting for the bad balls to arrive before duly dispatching them to the boundary.

With the Glamorgan quicks struggling to create chances and sustain pressure, Sam Northeast, turned to Ben Kellaway’s spin after just 25 overs of the morning session, a decision which soon paid dividends.