Toby Bailey, Keaton Jennings give Lancashire edge
Lancashire assumed control of their top-of-the-table Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash with Glamorgan after the opening day at Colwyn Bay. Tom Bailey and Danny Lamb claimed four wickets apiece as the Red Rose bowled the hosts out for 257 before reaching 85 for 1 in reply – a deficit of 172 runs.It could have been worse for Glamorgan but for on-loan Samit Patel, who hit a half-century on his debut and combined expertly with the tail, most significantly Lukas Carey who crashed his way to fifty, after the hosts had been in disarray at 145 for 8. But Lancashire finished the day content with their work with Keaton Jennings four runs short of a half-century and Josh Bohannon on 6.Glamorgan opted to bat on a ground which is traditionally batsman friendly, but they might have regretted their decision after slipping to 12 for 2 in the seventh over. Nick Selman and Shaun Marsh, playing his first Championship game after breaking his arm during the World Cup, were both dismissed by Bailey who bowled an accurate opening spell.Lancashire were without Graham Onions who suffered a hamstring injury before play started, but the other four seamers compensated for his absence by taking three wickets before lunch.Charles Hemphrey and Billy Root began the recovery by adding 50 for the fourth wicket, but from the first ball after lunch Root became Bailey’s third victim. Hemphrey went on to score a patient 54 with eight boundaries before he became the fourth lbw victim of the innings – his dismissal starting a collapse of four wickets for only six runs.Patel, who has been signed on loan by Glamorgan from Nottinghamshire for Championship games only until the end of the season, watched from the other end as Chris Cooke and Graham Wagg feathered catches to the wicketkeeper while Ruaidhri Smith was bowled first ball playing back when he should have been forward.Two wickets were taken by the young allrounder Lamb, who had earlier taken his first Championship wicket when he dismissed David Lloyd leg before. This is Lamb’s fifth first-class game and he ended with the creditable figures of 15-2-70-4.Glamorgan were struggling at 145 for 8 but the home team were then indebted to Patel and the tail with the last two wickets adding a further 112 runs. Patel and Carey shared 60 for the ninth wicket, before Patel feel to Bailey for 54, but Carey bludgeoned fifty from 29 balls and was undefeated on 51 when Michael Hogan, who had struck an equally rapid 32, was last man out. The final pair added 52 as Glamorgan gained two batting points.Openers Jennings and Alex Davies made a steady start for Lancashire with the latter striking early boundaries. Jennings was troubled by Hogan who had a confident lbw appeal turned down by the umpire, the ball pitching marginally outside leg stump.The opening pair put on 59 in 17 overs before Smith, in his first Championship game of the season, dismissed Davies leg before for 32, not long before the weather intervened. Play resumed with no further alarms for the visitors who are well-placed to capitalise on their opening day’s work.