Injury To Will Mars Second Day At Swalec
28 March 2013
Gloucestershire suffered a new injury worry on the second and final day of the friendly game with Glamorgan at the SWALEC Stadium.
All-rounder Will Gidman limped off with a thigh strain after sending down just eight deliveries during the morning session.
The problem is not thought to be serious, but is one Gloucestershire could do without having already seen two of their seamers, Ian Saxelby and Paul Muchall, suffer pre-season injuries that threaten to prove long term.
James Fuller and Jack Taylor took three wickets each as Glamorgan made 238-9 in reply to their opponents’ 193-7.
The hosts were 93-7 at one point before being rescued by Mark Wallace, who made 72 off 111 balls, with 6 fours.
Fuller finished with 3-30 from eight overs, while off-spinner Taylor claimed 3-33 from 15. By the end of the drawn game game Gloucestershire had made 34-2 in their second innings, losing openers Chris Dent and Richard Coughtrie.
When play began promptly at 10.30am, Glamorgan lost an early wicket as Gareth Rees departed leg before to the final ball of Fuller's opening over.
Will Bragg then joined Ben Wright and was swiftly into his stride as he deftly leg-glanced Fuller for four to long-leg.
Wright also found the boundary ropes as in the space of successive balls he cover drove Fuller before also crisply leg-glancing him.
Three balls later he also slashed a short ball from the seamer through backward point before greeting the introduction of Will Gidman into the attack by drilling him off the front foot through extra cover for another boundary. But the bowler had the last laugh as three balls later Wright edged into the hands of Dent at second slip.
When Gidman had to go off his second over was completed by brother Alex, who quickly claimed the third wicket, with Stewart Walters, after an initial cover drive for four, chopping a rising ball onto his stumps.
At 47-3 Nick James joined Bragg, who brought up the fifty with a fluent cover drive. Matt Taylor then entered the attack at the River End and was promptly dispatched through mid-off by James, before Bragg drilled the left-armer through both extra cover and backward point.
Shortly afterwards, Bragg added further to his boundary tally by nonchalantly driving the bowler to mid-on and mid-wicket, before turning his attention to Benny Howell who was driven through mid-off for four.
Jack Taylor's off-spin was then introduced and it produced immediate rewards as Bragg top-edged a paddle sweep and was caught at slip having made 40.
A score of 84-4 then became 89-5 as James was run out by Howell after a mix-up in calling. Wickets continued to tumble immediately after lunch as Jim Allenby was bowled shouldering arms to Fuller, who four balls later re-arranged Graham Wagg's stumps.
A delightful steer off the back foot by Wallace saw Glamorgan into three figures before John Glover took three fours in an over off Howell, two behind square on the leg-side and a third deftly steered to the vacant third man position as the eighth wicket pair consolidated Glamorgan's position.
Wallace repeated his deft glide through gully as Matt Taylor yielded another boundary and the fifty partnership came up, before Glover unfurled a fine cover drive against the left-armer.
Wallace then greeted the return of Jack Taylor by dispatching him through the covers, but the spinner ended the doughty stand as after 72 runs had been added in nineteen overs he bowled Glover for 28.
Wallace responded with successive off-side boundaries against Alex Gidman en route to a 72-ball fifty before Dean Cosker clobbered the same bowler over extra cover and through mid-wicket as the Welsh county completed a first innings lead.
Another deft steer behind square brought up the 200 shortly before tea. But the Glamorgan captain fell two overs after the interval as he was caught at mid-off as he miscued a lofted drive against Jack Taylor.
Glamorgan declared shortly after 4pm before having ten further overs at the visitors during which Mike Reed trapped Coughtrie lbw with his opening delivery before removing Dent in his fourth over as the opener was caught behind by Wallace
