6.02pm – Close. Glamorgan are 12-0 after two overs of their first-innings reply to our 361 all out. Intriguing opening day in Cardiff, with Hill’s 90 the standout for Yorkshire.
5.56pm – Coad is bowling the first of two overs tonight at Glamorgan’s openers, Northeast and Tribe. They’re 4-0 after one ball and are replying to 361.
5.46pm – WICKET! Coad edges to slip for 14 off Gorvin, who finishes with 4-67, and we’re 361 all out in the 92nd over. Two more overs to bowl tonight.
5.40pm – WICKET! Van der Gugten gets Hill caught behind for an excellent 90, and we’re 357-9 in the 91st over. Coad has 11. Moriarty last man in.
5.33pm – We’re 348-8 after 89 overs, with Hill 90. Elsewhere, Middlesex are 111-1 in reply to Derbyshire’s 173 all out at Derby, and Sussex are 127-3 in reply to Gloucestershire’s 109 all out at Bristol. Long way to go, but it could be that Yorkshire have to win this game to preserve a gap in the region of 15 points over Middlesex heading into the final round next week.
And another batting point is secured. It’s 353-8 in the 90th now.
5.21pm – WICKET! Fisher caught at second slip off van der Gugten, 10. We’re 338-8 in the 87th. Hill on 83, Coad in now.
5.12pm – Hill moves to 83 with a trio of boundaries off Harris in the 84th over. We’re 336-7, with Fisher on 8.
4.53pm – New ball taken by Glamorgan at 309-7 after 80. Hill 64, Fisher yet to score. Wondered whether that wicket may convince them to delay it for a couple of overs. But, no, van der Gugten returns.
4.49pm – WICKET! Thompson bowled by Kellaway, 8. We’re 309-7 in the 80th over. Fisher in now to join Hill, who has 64.
4.44pm – That’s a second batting point secured at 301-6 after 78 overs. Hill 60, Thompson 4.
4.38pm – WICKET! Oh no, Crane gets Bess lbw for 50 two balls later. It’s 296-6 in the 77th over. That ends a 102-run partnership with Hill, who has 59. Thompson in now.
4.37pm – Bess reaches his fifty, off 67 balls with 7x4s, and we’re 296-5 in the 77th over.
4.24pm – Hill reaches his fifty off 65 balls with 9x4s. Another fine contribution. Bess has 31, and we’re 268-5 in the 73rd over. These two have added 74 for the sixth wicket.
3.57pm – We have a first batting point at 251-5 in the 66th over. Hill 39 and Bess 25. Their partnership is an excellent 58.
Picture by John Heald. George Hill attacks against spin at Sophia Gardens.
3.52pm – We’re up and running after tea. Yorkshire 243-5 in the 65th over. Hill 35, Bess 21.
Leaders Sussex are 54-1 in reply to Gloucestershire’s 109 all out at Bristol, and Middlesex are 5-1 in reply to Derbyshire’s 173 all out at Derby.
If Yorkshire gain 10 more points than Middlesex do in their game at Derby, Yorkshire will be promoted this week. That’s the short-term view. The longer-term view is that if Yorkshire get 34 points from the final two matches, it doesn’t matter what Middlesex do.
3.30pm – Tea. Yorkshire 243-5 from 64 overs. Hill 35, Bess, 21. Really healthy end to the afternoon as these two have added 49 unbroken for the sixth wicket.
3.22pm – Bess and Hill have just taken three boundaries between them off Crane in the 62nd over, moving the score to 234-5. Hill 35, Bess 12. They’ve added 40 and counting for the sixth wicket.
3.11pm – We have five overs to bowl until tea, and we’ve moved to 210-5 after 59. Wharton 17, Bess 6.
3pm – WICKET! Wharton has pulled Harris down to wide long-leg, 63. We’re 194-5 in the 57th over. Bess in now alongside Hill, 7.
Picture by John Heald. James Wharton acknowledges his fifty at Cardiff this afternoon.
2.44pm – There’s certainly been the odd sign of uneven bounce in this pitch. Tattersall’s dismissal, caught behind pulling at Crane, was certainly a touch unfortunate, off under-edge it seemed and maybe some pad as well. But it kept low. We’re 184-4 after 53 overs. Wharton 60, Hill yet to score.
2.35pm – WICKET! Bairstow caught at backward point off Gorvin, 2. We’re 183-4 in the 51st over. Hill in now alongside Wharton, who has 59.
2.23pm – WICKET! Tattersall caught behind trying to pull at Crane, 41. We’re 178-3 in the 48th over. Bairstow in now.
2.16pm – Derbyshire have fallen from 130-2 to 133-7 against Middlesex at Derby, while Sussex have bowled Gloucestershire out for 109 at Bristol.
2.16pm – Wharton reaches his fifty off 84 balls with 8x4s, the latter pulled through mid-wicket off Crane’s leg-spin. We’re 170-2 in the 46th over. Super knock.
1.45pm – Half-century stand between Wharton 34 and Tattersall 26, and we’re 137-2 in the 38th over. Ideal start to the day.
1.35pm – Wharton 28 and Tattersall 25 have put on 45 and counting for the third wicket, taking the score to 130-2 in the 36th over. Excellent start to the afternoon session.
1.16pm – Tattersall and Wharton have just taken three boundaries in four balls off van der Gugten and Harris, moving the score to 112-2 in the 31st over. Tattersall 16, Wharton 19.
1.11pm – Set for the resumption after lunch here at Sophia Gardens. Tattersall to face Van der Gugten. He has 12 of 100-2 after 29 overs.
1.01pm – Harry Duke has posted 206 not out and counting in Yorkshire’s second-team 476-4 against Middlesex at Merchant Taylors School. They’re in the second day of four in the final Championship match of the season. Jawad Akhtar scored 106.
12.32pm – Lunch. Encouraging morning for Yorkshire, who have reached 100-2 from 29 overs. Lyth 46 and Bean 23 the wickets. Tattersall 12 not out and Wharton 11.
12.22pm – Gloucestershire are 66-6 against Division Two leaders Sussex at Bristol, and Derbyshire are 88-2 against third-placed Middlesex at Derby. We’ve moved to 91-2 in the 27th over here in Cardiff. Wharton 8, Tattersall 7.
12.13pm – WICKET! Lyth trapped lbw by Gorvin, 46. Yorkshire 85-2 in the 25th over. Tattersall in now alongside Wharton, 8.
12.02pm – SIX! Lyth hoists Kellaway’s off-spin down the ground, moving to 44. We’re 80-1 in the 22nd over. Wharton 5.
Picture by John Heald. Adam Lyth drives this morning.
11.47am – WICKET! Bean trapped lbw by Gorvin, 23. We’re 67-1 in the 19th over. Wharton in now alongside Lyth, 37.
11.44am – Lyth drives Morris through the covers for four to move to 33 and 1,000 Championship runs for the season. Fabulous. We’re 63-0 in the 18th over.
11.28am – Lyth and Bean, 26 and 21 respectively, have taken advantage of the short boundary towards the pavilion and have moved us to 50-0 in the 15th over.
11.14am – Ben Morris, Glamorgan’s debutant seamer, is into the attack. Handy start for Yorkshire having lost the toss. It’s 33-0 in the 12th.
11.05am – Yorkshire 22-0 after nine overs. Lyth 12, Bean 8.
10.43am – Amongst all the what ifs and permutations around the promotion race, it’s worth clarifying that the Dukes ball is ball in action for the final two rounds of the season.
10.39am – Productive start for Lyth, who has 12 – all in boundaries. We’re 12-0 in the third over. He needs to reach 33 for 1,000 Championship runs this season.
10.34am – The top three sides in the Division Two table – Sussex, Yorkshire and Middlesex – have all lost the toss. Gloucestershire have elected to bat against Sussex at Bristol and Derbyshire have elected to bat against Middlesex at Derby.
10.29am – We’re up and running at Sophia Gardens. Van der Gugten to bowl to Lyth. Bean his opening partner, as usual.
10.22am – The live stream will be available via the Match Centre tab at the top of the page.
10.02am – Glamorgan have won the toss and will bowl first.
Yorkshire: Lyth, Bean, Wharton, Bairstow w, Tattersall c, Hill, Bess, Thompson, Fisher, Coad, Moriarty.
9.40am – Good morning from Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, where it’s a glorious morning ahead of day one against Glamorgan.
Having won four of the last five matches in Division Two, Yorkshire sit second in the table, 15 points clear of Middlesex. If Yorkshire gain 34 points from the final two rounds of matches, promotion will be sealed.
The pitch for this fixture is a long way across the square – over to the pavilion side of this ground. It looks used rather than green.
While Yorkshire sit second in the table, Glamorgan sit second-bottom having only won once in 12 games. They have drawn seven and lost three. One of those defeats was against Sussex at Hove last week.
Glamorgan also have one eye on Sunday’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup final against Somerset at Taunton.
If you want to read our preview, with Ben Coad, you can do via the link below.
There will be a live stream available as per usual. We will advise how to access it closer to the start of play.
