Day 4
Durham dominated Glamorgan across this LV= Insurance County Championship match in Cardiff and although they were close to securing back-to-back wins the rain resulted in play being abandoned and the game being awarded a draw.
A century stand between Carlson and Timm van der Gugten brought Glamorgan close to the follow on target but wickets shared amongst the Durham seamers was enough to bowl Glamorgan out for 305 and allow the visitors to ask them to bat again.
In the Glamorgan second innings the Durham bowlers were well on top again as the home side reached 106 for six before a heavy rain shower brought play to close with 22 overs left to bowled.
Glamorgan will finish with nine points and Durham with 13 points, but the real winner was the weather which took almost two days play out of this match.
Glamorgan had resumed still trailing Durham by 318 runs and 169 runs away from avoiding the follow on. When Chris Cooke edged a ball through to wicket-keeper Ollie Robinson from a ball from Ben Raine only two more runs had been added to the overnight score and Glamorgan were in danger of conceding a massive first innings lead and having to bat again.
Carlson and van der Gugten batted brilliantly to take their team within touching distance of avoiding the follow on with a partnership of 110, a record ninth wicket stand in matches between these two teams.
Carlson backed up his hundred in Glamorgan’s opening match against Gloucestershire with another well put together century in this fixture. He looked troubled against the shorter ball, especially from Brydon Carse whose extra pace asked questions throughout the Glamorgan innings, but as ever with Carlson when he is at the crease he keeps the scoreboard ticking over. It seemed as if his journey from the sixties into the eighties happened in a flash.
He slowed down a little on his way to his hundred, but it was another innings that held things together for his team. Against Gloucestershire he came into bat with his team in trouble at 35 for three, here his team were three down for just 60 runs. Both times a century dug his team out of a hole of their own making.
Carlson’s first innings of the day was ended when Liam Trevaskis dismissed him caught and bowled for 119.
Glamorgan started their second innings still 166 behind Durham with 45 overs left to survive. Once again, the Durham seamers asked questions that the Glamorgan top order found hard to answer. Raine trapped Eddie Byrom lbw before Paul Coughlin claimed the wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Sam Northeast to leave the home side 40 for three, still 126 runs away from making Durham bat again.
Carlson couldn’t repeat his first innings heroics, he was dismissed for 7 in Glamorgan’s second dig when he was caught at leg slip by Graham Clark.
David Lloyd made 31 before he was caught hooking on the boundary to give Coughlan his fourth wicket and leave Glamorgan 66 for five with more than 30 overs left to be bowled. That become 96 for six when Chris Cooke edged through to the keeper off the bowling of Raine.
Shortly after the fall of Cooke’s wicket a very heavy rain shower brought play to a close with Durham left to rue a missed chance for a win with too much time lost for them to head north with maximum points.
Day 3
Durham continued to dominate their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Glamorgan in Cardiff with a career best score of 91 for Brydon Carse putting his team in a strong position at the close on day 3.
On a rain shortened day Glamorgan finished on 153 for five, still 318 runs behind Durham’s first innings total of 471 for nine declared.
Carse and Liam Trevaskis put on 128 runs, a record seventh wicket record stand for Durham against Glamorgan, before the visitor’s seamers took five wickets to put them in complete control.
Having lost all of day two to rain and another 38.4 overs today it will be very difficult for Durham to force a result but they are the only side who can hope for a win from this game.
Durham started the day with their sights set on maximum batting points and it was Carse who led the charge on his way to his best first class score. Liam Trevaskis was happy to let his partner to do the heavy lifting when it came to run scoring as Carse took on the Glamorgan bowlers. When Carse fell, trapped lbw by Michael Neser, Durham had added 47 runs to their overnight score in just 9.5 overs .
The partnership between Carse and Trevaskis was the largest of the Durham innings, and took them to their highest innings total of the season so far.
Marnus Labuschagne secured career best figures of four for 81. He had Ben Raine caught in the covers from a loopy full toss and claimed the wicket of Trevaskis lbw as Durham looked to score as quickly as possible. When Trevaskis was dismissed for 79 the Durham declaration arrived.
The Durham seamers were an immediate threat with the new ball, with Raine, Carse and Paul Coughlin creating chances. Coughlin dismissed Eddie Byrom first ball and David Lloyd fell to Ben Raine for 31 on the stroke of lunch.
Resuming after the interval at 50 for two, Glamorgan were in need of runs from their strong middle order, that did not happen. Labuschagne and Billy Root fell lbw to Raine and Brydon Carse bounced out Sam Northeast to reduce the home side to 72 for four, still 399 runs behind.
Kiran Carlson and Chris Cooke shared an unbroken stand worth 81 as batting started to look easier as the ball aged. Carlson looked composed, and having made a century in Glamorgan’s opening fixture against Gloucstershire he has some form behind him. A lot will be needed from him if the weather does stay away tomorrow as Glamorgan look to find a way out of a very tricky position.
It was an afternoon that was full of interruptions with the players going off for bad light for the third time before persistent rain arrived with the umpires calling off play for the day at 5:40pm.
There will be 96 overs available tomorrow for Durham to try and force an unlikely win, but with the weather forecast a mixed bag it seems unlikely that all of that cricket will be possible.
Day 2 Durham 382/6 (No play possible)
No play was possible on day two of the LV= Insurance County Championship match between Glamorgan and Durham in Cardiff.
Rain arrived moments before the start of the day and persisting throughout the afternoon. There was the occasional dry spell but never for long enough for the covers to be removed with the umpires calling time on the day at 3.40pm .
Durham were set to resume on 382 for six having been put into bat on the first day of this match and fifties from Michael Jones, Scott Borthwick, Ollie Robinson and Brydon Carse putting them in a strong position.
Durham had batted with real intent in the evening session on day one and would have been hopeful of claiming full batting points today. With this now being a three-day match there will be added impetus to get runs quickly if they hope to set up a win.
Glamorgan will still feel they can get back into this game if they can claim the last four Durham wickets quickly tomorrow, but the forecast for the weekend suggests that there will be more delays.
Day 1 Durham 382/6.
The first day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match between Glamorgan and Durham in Cardiff saw the visitors reach 382 for six having been put into bat. Fifties from Michael Jones, Ollie Robinson, Scott Borthwick and Brydon Carse leaves Durham in front heading into day two.
Despite having picked a seam heavy attack there was two wickets for Marnus Labuschagne bowling off spin as Glamorgan chipped away at the Durham batting line up on a surface where pace and movement were hard to come by.
The pick of the Glamorgan seamers was Timm van der Gugten who finished the day with two for 60.
Having scored at just under four runs an over, Durham will be the happier of the teams, especially considering Glamorgan’s decision to bowl first.
The decision to insert Durham having won the toss did not draw dividends in the first session despite van der Gugten claiming a wicket from his fifth delivery when he trapped Alex Lees lbw.
Both Jones and Borthwick made half centuries as the two put on a stand of 117. Borthwick was dismissed when he clipped a ball into the hands of Labuschagne at mid-wicket for 59. When Jones also fell, given lbw when attempting to reverse sweep Labuschagne’s off spin for 69, it felt as if Durham were in danger of failing to capitalise on a good start.
Those fears of not making the most of a solid platform were further realised for Durham when David Bedingham also hit a ball in the air towards mid-wicket with Labuschagne taking a very good diving catch. When Graham Clark was dismissed 22 runs later, edging one through to Chris Cooke off van der Gugten it left Durham 239 for five with four wickets falling for just 82 runs.
An excellent innings of 73 from Ollie Robinson was the steadying hand that Durham needed as he and Liam Trevaskis shared a stand worth 62 to take their team past 300. Robinson was the second wicket to fall to Labuschagne’s bowling when he was given out caught behind.
Glamorgan took the new ball with Durham on 321 for six and they would have been hopeful of making further inroads, but Trevaskis and Carse stood firm in an unbroken partnership worth 81. Trevaskis finished on 41 not out while Carse was undefeated on 53.
In Glamorgan’s match against Gloucestershire at this venue two weeks ago the pitch only improved with time, so that may have influenced the decision to bowl first, but with close to 400 already on the board, early wickets are needed for the home side tomorrow.
It will be interesting to see if a Durham attack that features the spin of Matt Kuhnemann can create more chances on this surface, but with the Labuschagne back with Glamorgan they will be hoping for a big statement from the number one ranked Test batter.