Glamorgan fight back at Colwyn Bay

Date: Wednesday 05 August 2009

Day One Report: Glamorgan 45-0 trail Leicestershire 313 (Ackerman 92, Dippenaar 85, Dalrymple 3-11, Harris 3-90) by 268 runs.

At 160-2 midway through the afternoon with captain Boeta Dippenaar and HD Ackerman in full flow, Leicestershire were entitled to think they would end the first day of the Championship match with Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay in firm control.

However, when impressive young seamer James Harris (3-90) bowled Ackerman for an outstanding 92, the tide turned in favour of the hosts at the picturesque venue in Rhos-on-Sea.

Despite Dippenaar making 85 and Tom New and Jacques du Toit getting into the forties, County subsided from 274-5 just after tea to 313 in their first innings.

Home skipper Jamie Dalrymple made hay after introducing himself as the sixth bowler of the day, claiming three wickets for eleven runs in identical fashion to catches by Tom Maynard at slip.

Then, with Glamorgan ending proceedings on 45-0, the lead was reduced to 268 and Dalrymple will have been delighted with his side’s fightback.

County, on the other hand, were left to wonder what might have been. The team batted extremely well at times to set up the match but lost wickets in clusters throughout to stall progress.

Earlier in the day, the game got underway in bright sunshine in front of a sizeable crowd at the pretty venue, with all-rounder Chris Thompson handed a Leicestershire debut in place of Matthew Boyce at the top of the order.

Dippenaar won the toss and elected to bat and eight runs came from the opening over, so it is fair to say things got off to a pleasant enough start.

However, things took a turn for the worse as four maidens followed – two of those wicket-maidens – as the hosts took a grip of the game.

In fairness, Greg Smith was somewhat fortunate to lose his wicket to a Harris inswinger, as he was adjudged leg-before to a rising ball that looked as though its destiny was heading over the stumps.

There was little doubt about Thompson’s dismissal though. The batsman had left the ball well in the opening exchanges but nicked a David Harrison delivery that nipped away through to Mark Wallace looking to get off the mark.

It meant skipper Dippenaar and Ackerman had an early rebuilding job and they tucked into the challenge with relish.

Ackerman got the score off the dreaded eight with a sumptuous drive through extra and quality strokeplay was a feature of both batsmen’s innings.

Dippenaar and Ackerman scored the majority of the early boundaries through the cover region with the skipper also pulling Harris powerfully for four as well.

That stroke prompted Dalrymple to change tack at the Embankment End as Adam Shantry settled into a lengthy spell.

It was mixed fare from the left armer and Ackerman was happy to tuck into anything wide on offer. However, Shantry also bowled some beauties and enticed Ackerman into his first false shot of the day when on 46.

The batter edged through to Wallace, who appeared to have taken the catch standing up. However, he looked to have lost control of the ball when attempting to throw it up in celebration of what Glamorgan clearly felt was the key wicket.

It was a massive blow to the hosts and Ackerman soon moved to a 57-ball fifty. His knock included eight fours at that stage – including two belters through mid-off – and with Dippenaar also constructing nicely, the side went to lunch on 125-2.

The afternoon session continued in positive vein for County, with Dippenaar’s fifth four helping him past a 92-delivery half-century.

Harris was certainly not making life easy for the experienced duo though, and his post-lunch spell was to prove a turning point.

The seamer bowled with pace, aggression and accuracy throughout and produced a collector’s item by beating Ackerman’s outside edge. Although the batter stroked a four next ball, he perished to the next to a delivery that jagged back sharply.

It ended an aesthetically-pleasing knock just eight short of a richly-deserved hundred and Harris was soon in the action again when trapping in-form James Taylor leg-before for five.

Dippenaar continued to find the ropes – including two cover drives and a pull – but when he had a rush of blood on 85, three wickets had fallen for 55 runs during the post-lunch session.

The captain had batted with care and patience in reaching his total but was bowled to an uncharacteristically loose stroke when charging the slow left arm spin of Dean Cosker.

Dippenaar has developed a nasty habit of getting out in the 80s and his disappointment in not reaching three-figures was obvious as he made the walk back.

Nevertheless, the skipper had played a fine knock and set a platform for New and du Toit to build on.

Both played neatly in building a 59-run partnership either side of tea, with some careful batting against the wily dual spin threat of Robert Croft and Cosker.

The one blemish came when du Toit was dropped by Maynard at slip off Harris just before the interval but he lived to survive another day and the seamer was left exasperated on missing out on a fourth success.

It looked as though it could prove costly, particularly with du Toit playing some attractive strokes throughout a fine knock.

However, the young fielder did not have to wait long to make amends for the misdemeanour as he and Dalrymple formed a duopoly on proceedings in the evening session.

The one-time England ODI all-rounder restricts himself to occasional bowling nowadays as he has two other spinners at his disposal, but some accurate off-spin was rewarded with three identical wickets as Maynard pocketed opportunities at slip.

New was first to fall five short of a half-century. The knock contained some patient accumulation and trademark cover drives but he perished when edging a ball that turned.

du Toit was determined to be positive and struck a six and two fours off Cosker after the wicket.

Unfortunately, he exited looking for more runs via the Dalrymple-Maynard partnership when falling to a quicker arm ball and suddenly County had lost their last two recognised batsmen in another cluster.

When Nathan Buck became the third batter to fall in an extreme case of deja vu, County had lost three wickets for 25 runs after tea and Dalrymple was having a ball at the Embankment End.

His spell built on the earlier excellent work by Harris and the innings was not to last much longer.

Although Claude Henderson took the score past 300, he left AJ Harris in no man’s land after hesitating coming back for second run and the seamer was run out at the bowler’s end.

Last man Harry Gurney struck a six over long-on but offered Cosker a return catch to end the innings. The final five wickets went for 39 runs and the home side were now well chuffed with their efforts in the field.

Gareth Rees and Will Bragg then saw the home side through to the close without loss, adding 45 runs for good measure as both found the boundary on a number of occasions.

County will now require early breakthroughs to get themselves back into the contest, and although the day ended with disappointment, all is far from lost.

With some uneven bounce at the Penrhyn Avenue End and a pitch that offered something to consistent bowling, County will be hopeful of staging a fightback of their own.