Day 4 Glamorgan 390 & 426 for seven vs Durham 630 – Match Drawn
Chris Cooke defied Durham on the final day at Seat Unique Riverside with an unbeaten century to secure a draw for Glamorgan, maintaining their unbeaten record in the LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two this term.
Cooke arrived at the crease after Kiran Carlson fell from the fifth ball of the day when the visitors were reduced to 159 for five, staring down the possibility of an innings defeat.
But, the wicket-keeper defied the home side with a brilliant performance, notching his second hundred of the season with a score of 134. Timm van der Gugten was equally impressive to record his seventh first-class fifty, sharing an unbeaten stand worth 153 with Cooke to earn a share of the spoils.
Durham made the early breakthrough to dismiss Carlson and were seemingly on course for victory after reducing the visitors to 273 for seven. But, on a flat pitch they could not prise out the eight-wicket stand on a pitch that offered little assistance for both pace and spin bowlers. The North-East outfit remain top of the Division Two table still comfortably ahead of their rivals at the halfway stage of the campaign.
Durham did not have to wait long to earn the first breakthrough of the day as Bas de Leede claimed the vital wicket of Carlson for 35 when the Glamorgan skipper picked out Craig Miles at short mid-wicket. Still 81 behind, the visitors required a strong effort from their final five wickets to fend off the Durham charge for victory.
Cooke and Billy Root were disciplined to see off the remaining spells from De Leede and Ben Raine before settling in against the left-arm spin of Ajaz Patel. The batters put on a stand of 72 before Root had a waft a wide delivery from Raine to hand Durham their sixth wicket to present a chance to break into the Glamorgan tail.
But, Cooke led a counter after lunch, dispatching Miles for back-to-back boundaries to reach his fifty and the Glamorgan keeper was far from done in a bid to defy the hosts. Although Andy Gorvin was bowled by Miles, Van der Gugten joined Cooke, and was well up for the challenge, remaining solid in defence and taking his scoring opportunities when given the opportunity.
Durham tried an array of bowling combinations and tactics as Scott Borthwick threw everything at his disposal to break the partnership. The combination of outstanding batting and a lifeless day four pitch frustrated the home side. Cooke capitalised as the field spread to grind his way to a deserved century from 168 balls, which took the game away from Durham in the afternoon session.
Van der Gugten also claimed his milestone to reach fifty before both teams shook hands on a draw in the final hour.
Day 3 Glamorgan 390 & 159 for four vs Durham 630
Bas de Leede produced career-best batting and bowling figures to boost Durham’s hopes of defeating Glamorgan on day three of their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Seat Unique Riverside.
De Leede scored an unbeaten 85 to allow Durham to post a mammoth total of 630, their fifth-highest score in first-class cricket, following 151 from David Bedingham. The hosts added 170 for the final three wickets to force Glamorgan to toil in the heat, taking a 240-run lead into the second innings.
The Netherlands international then took centre stage with the ball, striking with his first two deliveries before adding a third to end the day with figures of three for 25 to leave Glamorgan four down at the close, still requiring 81 runs to make Durham bat again.
Durham began the day with a lead of 21, and Bedingham added another milestone to his collection by working his way past 150. But, he would fall from the following delivery knicking off to James Harris to end a partnership worth 149 with Graham Clark. Clark added only 12 to his overnight score as he lacked the fluency to kick on for his second first-class hundred in a row, although the tail would ensure that Durham’s dominance of the scoreboard continued.
De Leede helped his team turn the screw with a patient knock for his third first-class fifty, securing a career-best score of 85, including six fours and a six that Timm van der Gugten could not keep in play on the rope.
Ben Raine, Ajaz Patel and Craig Miles all made double figures to frustrate the visitors, who were forced to scatter the field against the latter amid an onslaught of runs in the afternoon sun. Miles blasted two sixes in the final stand with De Leede worth 62, lifting Durham to their fifth-highest first-class score of 630 and a lead of 240. After dropping Miles twice, Gorvin got the final wicket to end four-and-a-half sessions of toil for the visitors.
Glamorgan required a solid start from their makeshift openers Zain ul-Hassan and Andrew Salter. The two batters were solid and added a second partnership over fifty for the first wicket. Stanley McAlindon endured a tough time in the field in the first innings, and his luck was out again from his first ball after finding Ul Hassan’s outside edge, only for the ball to travel through the vacant second slip position.
But, McAlindon was rewarded for his efforts with the first wicket as he found Ul-Hassan’s top edge and Ollie Robinson took a fine diving catch.
De Leede then turned up the pressure with two wickets from his first two deliveries. Ingram picked out Bedingham at gully with a loose shot before De Leede pinned Sam Northeast lbw. Kiran Carlson survived the hat-trick ball, but De Leede’s impressive spell continued when he sent Salter’s stumps flying for 48.
Carlson’s resistance continued until the close alongside Billy Root, although the Glamorgan skipper and his team have a huge task ahead of them to avoid their first defeat of the season.
Day 2 Glamorgan 390 vs Durham 411 for five
Centuries from David Bedingham and Ollie Robinson provided the foundation of the Durham fightback on day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division two clash against Glamorgan.
The visitors reduced Durham to 119 for four to put the pressure on, but Robinson and Bedingham responded with a stand of 171 for the fifth wicket. Robinson was the more fluent of the two batters and reached his second ton of the season from just 93 balls, continuing his impressive form.
Bedingham had to work for his century but was rewarded for his effort posting his 15th first-class hundred on his way to his highest score of the campaign. The South African pressed Durham ahead of Glamorgan’s first-innings total sharing another century stand with Graham Clark, giving the home side the platform to build a sizeable lead on day three.
Glamorgan enjoyed a promising start to day two by making made inroads into the Durham line-up. Nightwatch Stanley McAlindon failed to see out the first over to hand Timm van der Gugten his first wicket, while James Harris then removed Michael Jones as Sam Northeast claimed a brilliant catch at second slip. The first half-hour could have been better for Glamorgan, but Lees’ edge travelled between third slip and gully, denying Harris the second wicket of his first over.
Scott Borthwick almost gave his wicket away when he attempted a quick single, only to be turned back by Lees halfway down the track. Time stood still for Andrew Salter to connect with the stumps, but he missed with his throw to let the Durham skipper off the hook. The two Durham batters got on the same page to register their fifty stand before Lees worked his way to his third half-century of the term.
However, Glamorgan fought back to edge the morning session as Borthwick picked out Zain-ul-Hassan at mid-wicket before Lees was bowled in the final over before the interval by Andy Gorvin.
Durham required a partnership in the afternoon session to stem the side. Robinson and Bedingham answered the call, emulating Glamorgan’s efforts from day one with a brilliant effort under the baking sun at Chester-le-Street. Robinson endured a tough time against Van der Gugten early in his innings, surviving a close lbw shout on three.
But, after grinding through the first half-hour, the 24-year-old shifted through the gears with ease. He outscored Bedingham at the other end, surging past fifty and then towards his second century of the season, reaching three figures in the final over before tea with a sweep to the fence against Kiran Carlson with his 17th boundary.
Bedingham was more reserved than his team-mate, but more than played his role as the two batters combined for 166 runs in the session at over five runs per over. Only a brilliant piece of keeping from Chris Cooke halted Robinson’s charge as he gathered a leg-side delivery from Gorvin and stretched to whip off the Durham batter’s bails after he overbalanced out of his crease.
Despite the loss of Robinson, Durham maintained their intensity as Bedingham scored his second century of the season, cutting Van der Gugten to the fence from the second delivery from the new ball. Clark compounded Durham’s advantage and his striking ability allowed him to follow his hundred from his last first-class outing with another milestone, posting fifty from 75 balls.
As the day came to a close, Bedingham and Clark steered the hosts past the 400-run mark, earning a fourth batting point in the process and taking a lead of 21 into day three with five first-innings wickets remaining.
The Glamorgan skipper scored his second ton of the season against the North-East outfit and his fourth of the campaign to provide the foundation of the visitors’ score after opting to bat. Carlson was dropped on 67 and 107, and he duly made the hosts pay with his knock of 162 supported by 60 from Sam Northeast and a quick-fire 45 from Billy Root.
Durham toiled in the afternoon session amid Carlson’s onslaught, but debutant Craig Miles and Ben Raine combined with four wickets apiece to lead a late fightback with the new ball to prevent Glamorgan from breaking past the 400-run mark. The visitors fell from 340 for four to 390 all out, spurning a decent opportunity to bat the hosts out of the game.
Both sides were shorn of their Ashes stars as Matthew Potts missed out for the home side, while Glamorgan entered the game without Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser. Despite fielding an inexperienced opening pair of Zain ul-Hassan and Andrew Salter, the visitors opted to bat. Salter and Ul-Hassan fended off the initial new-ball burst, working their way to a fifty partnership within the first hour.
But, Durham new boy Miles made the breakthrough with a brute of a short ball before diving to take a return catch to send Ul-Hassan on his way. Bas de Leede then prised out Colin Ingram and Salter for a well-made 43 as Ollie Robinson took two catches to give Durham the narrow edge in the morning session after reducing the visitors to 81 for three.
After lunch, Carlson issued an emphatic response taking the attack to the Durham bowlers. The Glamorgan skipper dispatched two sixes against Ajaz Patel and Miles to race his way towards fifty from 72 balls.
Stanley McAlindon had a tough day with the ball as he was given an early warning for a beamer and then struggled with no balls, overstepping several times, as his first six overs cost fifty runs. McAlindon’s day went from bad to worse when he dropped a simple chance at short mid-wicket to dismiss Carlson for 67, which would loom large over the rest of the innings.
Northeast at the other end was not quite as fluent as Carlson, but he was still able to register his third half-century of the season. The two batters shared a stand worth 168 to provide the foundation of the innings before Miles broke the partnership with a gem pin Northeast lbw for 60.
Carlson pressed on and notched his 11th first-class century, and fourth of the campaign, continuing his 100% conversion rate in 2023. He was handed yet another life on 107 when Miles put down a diving chance at gully. Root offered quick runs to maintain the pressure on the hosts, only to fall five short of a half-century to the first delivery from the new ball from Raine.
Carlson continued to defy the hosts by working his way to his second consecutive score of over 150 in the Championship. But, the home side fought back in the dying overs of the day as the 25-year-old was finally dismissed to Miles for 162 before James Harris fell in the same over.
Raine ended the Glamorgan innings when he bowled Prem Sisodiya, earning a third bowling bonus point for the hosts and preventing the visitors from taking their score beyond 400. McAlindon was chosen as the nightwatch and saw out the final over the day to leave Durham four for nought at the close, 386 behind.
