GIANT STAND PUTS GLAM IN CONTROL
ABRILLIANT recovery led by hundreds from Colin Ingram and Kiran Carlson saw Glamorgan finish day two of their Vitality County Championship match against Sussex on 411 for nine, a lead of 133 on first innings.
Glamorgan were in real trouble in the opening session of the day after a burst of three wickets from Jayden Seales saw them slump to 41 for four before a record partnership of 315 from Ingram and Carlson took the home side into a first innings lead
Ingram was dismissed for 170 and Carlson made 148, by far the two highest scores of this match so far.
Seales completed his third fivewicket haul of the season just before the close as he further cemented his place as the leading wicket taker in Division Two.
The day started with the ball dominating proceedings with Trinidadian Seales bowling with pace and late movement. A ball from around the wicket that seamed back into the lefthanded Billy Root bowled the batter with him not offering a shot.
Eleven balls later Seales had his second when he bounced out nightwatchman Mason Crane with a ball that lifted on him and was caught by wicketkeeper John Simpson.
Seales claimed his third wicket when he had Sam Northeast caught behind off a good-length ball to leave Glamorgan in real trouble.
From there it was all about Ingram and Carlson who put on a record fifth wicket stand for Glamorgan going past the 307 made by Carlson and Chris Cooke against Northamptonshire in 2021.
Once the shine had gone off the new ball it was all very straightforward for the Glamorgan pair and with Sussex without the spin option of Jack Carson due to a back injury he sustained while batting on day one, the visitors struggled for control.
With the scoring rate hovering around four runs an over throughout the partnership it was just after tea that Glamorgan went into the lead on first innings, a remarkable turnaround from where they were in the morning session. The second new ball saw Seales return to the attack but with two set batters he did not find the same penetration as in the morning session with Ingram scoring 14 runs from his first over back.
Ingram became the leading run scorer in the County Championship as he made his third hundred of the season. Ingram’s form presents an interesting overseas player conundrum for Glamorgan with the arrival of Marnus Labuschagne imminent. Given their depleted bowling stocks Glamorgan may not be able to leave out Mir Hamza so that means only one of Ingram or Labuschange can play when the Australian does arrive with the club.
When the breakthrough did come it came as a bit of a surprise, with Carlson hitting a ball into the hands of extra cover off Seales for 148. As has been the case in this match so far, wickets have tended to fall in bursts and Cooke was dismissed in the next over for one.
Ingram was trapped lbw by Danny Lamb before the close as part of a spell of play that saw Glamorgan lose three wickets for three runs before a quick-fire 26 from James Harris helped the home team reach 400 to claim their seventh bonus point of the match. Harris and Andy Gorvin both fell before the close to bookend the day with another cluster of wickets.