Carlson ton helps Glam to battle back
AN excellent unbeaten hundred from Kiran Carlson lifted Glamorgan to a respectable score on the first day of Glamorgan’s LV= Insurance County Championship match against Sussex as the home side reached 285 all out.
Sussex’s openers looked excellent in response, Tom Haines and Aaron Thomason both reaching the close undefeated, with their team 99 without loss.
The visitors were on top in the opening overs of the match with Ollie Robinson and Harry Crocombe getting the ball to move late, but Glamorgan came back into it thanks to Carlson’s hundred and David Lloyd’s 84.
Robinson had Nick Selman trapped lbw with the fourth ball of the match and had Andy Balbirnie dismissed the same way in the seventh over of the Glamorgan innings.
When Crocombe got another lbw, this time Billy Root, Glamorgan were 23 for three and in serious danger of collapsing.
Lloyd’s attacking intent and Carlson’s more measured accumulation blunted the Sussex attack, with both particularly brutal on the bowling of George Garton, who went for 30 runs from just four overs.
It was Crocombe who ended Lloyd’s fine knock of 84 with a ball that bounced and moved away to give Garton a sharp catch at second slip to end a stand of 110 with Carlson.
Carlson remained unflustered as partners fell around him with Glamorgan losing three wickets for 46 runs when Crocombe and Robinson were reintroduced into the attack.
He was lucky to survive on 91 when Tom Clark’s first ball was edged to Garton at first slip, but he failed to take the chance diving to his right.
Had the chance been taken it would have been a wicket with Clark’s first ball in first-class cricket, but Carlson made the most of his good fortune, registering his fifth first-class hundred from 152 balls.
An 87-run stand between Carlson and Dan Douthwaite took Glamorgan to 266 for six. Douthwaite was just starting to open his shoulders and look to score quickly when he mistimed a drive off Stuart Meaker for 36.
Three quick wickets from Jack Carson rounded off the Glamorgan innings, with Carlson unbeaten on 127.
While Carlson and Lloyd did well the Sussex opening pair put Glamorgan’s efforts into context. Thomason made 52 and Haines 43 with none of the Glamorgan’s bowlers getting the same movement with the new ball that Robinson and Crocombe had managed.