Kent v Glamorgan LV=CC: Day Two

Mark Wallace became Glamorgan’s first specialist wicket keeper to score 1,000 runs for a first-class seasonon the second dayof the day/night LV = County Championship match at Canterbury.

When stumps were finally drawn at the St Lawrence ground at 9.30pm on a rain-affected day two, Glamorgan had reached 258 for four – an overall first-innings lead of 21 – with Wallace on 41 in tandem with Stewart Walters, unbeaten on 83.

On a cold day, when the Tiflex pink ball seemingly failed to swing, seam or spin, Glamorgan’s top order did their best to achieve a few personal milestones.

There was some confusion before play started at 2pm, with umpire Nigel Cowley unable to attend due to illness. Kent member and local league umpire, Bob Whale, stood at square leg for the opening 20 minutes, before being replaced by ex-Kent off-spinner Steve Dale, who partnered Martin Bodenham through to late afternoon. Dale was then replaced by former Glamorgan seamer and ECB reserve list umpire, Alex Wharf, who made the four-hour drive from his home in Caerphilly to fill in.

The change in officials proved the only excitement of the opening hour as the Welsh reached 34 before suffering their first loss.

With his score on 21 and his season’s first-class tally at an agonising 999 runs, Glamorgan skipper Alviro Petersen clubbed a Matt Coles long-hop to mid-wicket where Adam Ball held on to the chance at the second attempt.

Will Bragg soon outdid his skipper by lofting a drive just out of the reach of the extra cover fielder and to the ropes against Darren Stevens to become Glamorgan’s first batter of the season to reach four figures but, soon after, Bragg’s luck ran out.

His airy drive against off-spinner Adam Riley deflected off the gloves, chest and shoulder of wicketkeeper Geraint Jones and then back on to the stumps to complete the most fortunate of stumpings.

Gareth Rees meandered his way to a 126-ball 50, while Walters needed only 85 deliveries to reach the same landmark as Kent’s weakened attack struggled to get any response from a docile pitch and the experimental pink Tiflex ball.

With his score on 54 Rees was finally undone by some extra bounce and could only glove a lifting delivery from Ball into the hands of Sam Northeast at short mid-wicket to make it 121 for three.

Two rain breaks either side of the 4pm afternoon interval led to the loss of 90 minutes and a 9.30pm finish.

Wallace gavethe visitorssomething to cheer very late in the day when, 15 minutes before the close, he ran two down to third man to reach his 1,000 for the summer and write his name into the Glamorgan history books.The Welsh will now resume 21 runs ahead on day three.

Attendance figures for day one of this historic match were over 800 for the first two sessions, with additional spectators arriving later in the day. On this second day over 1,000 spectators have comethrough the gates.

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Photo by Sarah Ansell SarahCanterbury.com