Picture by John Heald. Dom Bess celebrates having bowled Ben Kellaway this morning.
A determined century from ex-South Africa limited overs international Colin Ingram helped Glamorgan make a strong recovery on day two at Sophia Gardens.
At the start of this season-opening Rothesay County Championship, which got underway after tea during yesterday’s opening day, Glamorgan had slumped to 28-4 thanks to three Jack White wickets.
By close, they advanced to 99-4, with left-handed veteran Ingram unbeaten on 41.
Through a full day’s play today in bright but blustery Cardiff, Ingram – aged 40 – continued on to post 103 off 226 balls, his second century in four Championship matches against Yorkshire dating back to 2023.
Ingram’s effort was the centrepiece of newly-promoted Glamorgan’s 302 inside 121 overs.
Yorkshire then only faced 10 balls in their reply – 1-0 – before bad light prevented any play beyond 6pm. They were due to face 17 overs in total.
Picture by John Heald. Ben Coad removed centurion Colin Ingram.
Today’s wickets were taken by Dom Bess, Matthew Revis, Ben Coad and George Hill on a pitch which falls into the category of ‘attritional’.
It has taken turn, however, and Bess finished with 3-42 from 23.3 overs of off-spin. White finished the innings with 3-40 from 20.
The penultimate wicket of the innings, which fell midway through the evening, was that of Andy Gorvin, who was the subject of a remarkable one-handed catch by Logan van Beek at long-leg off Hill.
Off-spinner Bess was actually captaining the visitors today in the absence of captain Jonny Bairstow, who is nursing a right thumb injury. Fin Bean continued behind the stumps today, a role he had assumed a handful of overs from the end of day one.
Bairstow had been struck on the thumb by an under-edged pull from Ingram against the pace of van Beek, and he didn’t keep today to try and give things time to settle.
The pain was still there this morning, and he was due to test it out with the bat in the indoor nets.
Picture by John Heald. Matthew Revis bowled Chris Cooke with an off-cutter.
There is the possibility of him being substituted out of the game under new ECB rules for this competition. But that hasn’t happened yet, and it would means he misses next week’s home clash with Hampshire.
Yorkshire’s bowlers bowled well and plugged away manfully, though so did Ingram and his middle and lower order batting partners.
He completed a fifth-wicket partnership of 101 with all-rounder Ben Kellaway, who had reached 52 before being bowled through the gate by a beauty of a turning delivery from Bess, who struck with his third ball of the day and ninth of the match to leave the score at 129-5 in the 47th over and the 11th of the day.
Glamorgan reached lunch at 169-5, though it should have been six as Adam Lyth failed to cling on to a chance at slip off Bess’s bowling with Chris Cooke on 22.
Revis later bowled Cooke, again through the gate, with a sumptuous off-cutter for 30 as the hosts fell to 196-6 after 76 overs. It was an ideally timed wicket with the new ball just around the corner.
That worked for Coad, who then had Ingram caught behind pushing forwards by Bean the ball after he had reached his century off 225 balls – 224-7 in the 83rd over.
Picture by John Heald. Colin Ingram celebrates his century, Glamorgan’s first in Division One since 2005.
Lyth was visibly frustrated with himself at missing another slip opportunity – this time at second – with Timm van der Gugten on 21 (241-7) off White’s bowling.
Van der Gugten went on to make 40 and, either side of tea, share 59 with Mason Crane before Bess bowled the former with a turning delivery, which beat him on the outside edge. That left the score at 283-8 in the 113th.
Before lunch, play had taken place against the backdrop of both the Canadian and Welsh national anthems being played from a nearby hockey pitch at the Welsh Institute of Sport, which is based on the same Sophia Gardens complex. The two nations were playing an emerging women’s fixture.
Even though Yorkshire found wickets hard to come by, they were able to keep a lid on the scoring rate. For example, Glamorgan reached 250-7 in 93 overs.
It took them the best part of another 27 overs to reach 300. They did so thanks to Crane, who contributed 51 off 96 balls but was last man out when he lofted Bess to Revis at long-on.
Shortly before that, van Beek had taken his one-handed catch in his right hand as he dived backwards just inside the long-leg boundary rope after Gorvin had hooked Hill. The Dutchman’s celebration was understandably jubilant, weaving in and out of onrushing team-mates before playfully pretending to offload the ball as if it was a rugby ball.
