Late resistance sees Glam establish lead
GLAMORGAN edged into a firstinnings lead of 52 over Nottinghamshire on day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Trent Bridge after a ninth-wicket partnership of 106 between Timm van der Gugten and James Weighell helped the visitors finish the day on 354 for nine.
Despite half-centuries from skipper David Lloyd and former Kent captain Sam Northeast, who made an impressively dogged 85, Glamorgan had slipped to 248 for eight just after tea, still 54 behind.
Lloyd, who was caught off a no-ball before he had scored on the first evening, shared a thirdwicket stand of 117 with Northeast but Glamorgan lost their next six wickets for 85 and seemed to have squandered a good platform.
However, with Netherlands international Van der Gugten unbeaten on 56 they finished the day not only with four batting bonus points but a clear advantage at the halfway stage of the match.
Brett Hutton, who removed Australian Test star Marnus Labuschagne for just three, dismissed Lloyd for 76.
Northeast, one of the most accomplished county players without an England cap, looked set for a 26th career first-class century before falling to the ball of the day from South African seamer Dane Paterson.
Glamorgan, 33 without loss overnight, suffered two setbacks in the first five overs of the morning, in which James Pattinson registered the first wicket of his third spell with Nottinghamshire when he had Andrew Salter caught at first slip.
His dismissal ushered in Labuschagne for his first bat of the season but the anticipated duel between the world No 1 Test batsman and his former Australia teammate Pattinson did not materialise.
Instead, Pattinson’s new-ball partner Hutton dismissed Labuschagne at the first attempt with a ball he felt safe to leave but which nipped back enough to strike him on the knee roll, plumb in front.
Lloyd and Northeast weathered the storm not only to guide the visitors to lunch at 130 for two but to extend their partnership into the afternoon before Hutton drew Lloyd into a stroke that he edged to second slip. Ben Duckett, the fielder denied by Pattinson’s overstepping when Lloyd survived on the first evening, took the catch.
Northeast, who played two matches on loan for Nottinghamshire last season at the end of his four years at Hampshire, lost more partners as young seamer Joey Evison struck in consecutive overs, removing Kiran Carlson and Chris Cooke with almost identical deliveries, both finding a thin outside edge through to wicketkeeper Tom Moores.
As Callum Taylor flashed at a ball from Dane Paterson to be caught at first slip, the balance was tipping towards Nottinghamshire, more so immediately after tea as Michael Naser was bowled off an inside edge by Evison before, in the next over, Paterson threaded a beauty through a narrow gap between bat and pad to bowl a bemused Northeast, who had barely erred in four and a half hours at the crease.
Nottinghamshire looked good for the first-innings lead but let their opponents off the hook as Weighell and Van der Gugten punished Pattinson in particular.
The Aussie finished with undistinguished figures of one for 105 from 25 overs, only the sixth time in his career he has conceded more than 100 runs in an innings, with left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-white taking the last wicket of the day as Weighell was caught behind for 45.