SNOW JOKE FOR GLAM AS YORKSHIRE WEATHER THREATENS CHANCES
NINETY minutes of steady snow - either side of and through the lunch interval - at Emerald Headingley ensured only 32 overs were bowled early on day three as Glamorgan’s opening round victory hopes were hampered.
A dominant morning with the bat had put the Welshmen in pole position to win this LV= Insurance County Championship Group Three fixture.
Glamorgan, 68 for four in their second innings overnight, advanced to reach lunch on 161 for four with a lead of 298. Unbeaten fifth-wicket pair Billy Root and Chris Cooke both went beyond 50.
Yorkshire’s victory hopes were effectively frozen out before the wintery weather arrived at 12.55pm.
Play continued up to lunch, but the snow immediately got significantly heavier to blanket the outfield.
Yorkshire were forced to take the field at the start of play without injured new ball duo Ben Coad and Matthew Fisher, who were nursing pectoral and abdominal problems respectively.
They will not bowl again in the game ahead of further assessment early next week.
That left only captain Steve Patterson and South African overseas Duanne Olivier as frontline seamers.
Coad being sidelined was a particular blow having already taken seven wickets in the match, including three at the start of this innings as Glamorgan fell to 29 for four.
And Root and Cooke took advantage in determined fashion by adding 93 runs in 32 overs, taking their overall partnership to 132.
Root, 25 overnight, had reached 77 not out at lunch and reached his fifty off 125 balls with three quarters of an hour to go before lunch. The left-hander swept Dom Bess for six shortly after reaching his half-century.
Cooke, who started the day on 17, followed him to the same milestone off 130 balls.
Given Yorkshire’s limited bowling options, it was somewhat of a surprise that Billy Root did not have to face the off-spin of his older brother Joe, who bowled his only two overs of the innings at the end of day two.
Glamorgan’s lead of 298 is already a commanding one, yet they would have been hoping to set a target around 450. Instead, they may have to search for quick runs at the start of day four and defend somewhere in the region of 350.
Umpires Paul Baldwin and Russell Warren inspected conditions as soon as the snow stopped just before 2.30pm before abandoning the day at 3.30pm.
“That’s a first for me,” reflected Glamorgan assistant coach David Harrison.
“We played at Derby five years ago when we had a hailstorm, but I’ve not seen a full-on snowstorm cause the end of a day’s play before.
“It’s a shame because we had a really good first session and were looking forward to pushing on and trying to extend our lead.
“Billy (Root) has been great since he joined us a couple of years ago, and his form has been really consistent. He’s had a really good game against Joe in a bit of a side-plot, batted really well and nearly got Joe out.
“Hopefully the weather holds. We’ll have a chat about what to do in the morning, but we’ve played really well in this game against a strong Yorkshire team.
“When the fixtures came out and you’re playing Yorkshire first game, they’re a big club with a lot of good players. But pre-season was positive, we’ve had a good first three days, and hopefully we can finish well.”