Allenby keeps Glamorgan competitive

Glamorgan 300 for 8 v Gloucestershire
Scorecard

Half-centuries from Jim Allenby and Will Bragg guided Glamorgan to 300 for eight on the opening day of the County Championship Division Two match with Gloucestershire at Bristol.

After being put into by bat by home captain Alex Gidman, the Glamorgan innings revolved around two partnerships of 103. The first came from Bragg (63) and Nick James (40) for the second wicket. Then Allenby (78) and Mark Wallace (42) put on the same amount for the fifth wicket.

Gloucestershire's attack stuck to their task well on a slow pitch and David Payne finished as the most successful of the six bowlers used with 3 for 46. Gloucestershire handed a championship debut to former New Zealand Under-19 fast bowler James Fuller, and Glamorgan did likewise with young paceman John Glover.

Fuller was one of five frontline seamers selected by Gloucestershire, but the only wicket of the morning session came in the fifth over when Gareth Rees gloved a delivery from Jon Lewis to Chris Dent at second slip. Bragg and James survived several strong shouts for lbw early in the innings, but then played with increasing confidence.

The partnership was broken shortly after lunch when Bragg, who had hit nine boundaries in his 110-ball innings, was trapped on the crease and fell leg before to Payne. The left-arm seamer struck again in his next over when Stuart Walters pushed forward and was also dismissed lbw.

It became 130 for four when James' gritty 127-ball innings ended with a loose drive at Ian Saxelby, which gave Dent a second catch in the slips. Wallace, captaining Glamorgan in the absence of the injured Alvaro Petersen, took three successive fours off Saxelby, two cut behind square and one turned off his legs, in a brisk start to his innings.

Allenby also scored freely and he reached an 81-ball half-century with a leg-glanced boundary off Payne in the last over before tea, which Glamorgan took on 209 for 4. Allenby and Wallace had extended their stand to three figures when the Glamorgan skipper miscued a pull at Fuller and gave the paceman a gentle return catch.

James Harris (21) and Allenby added 44 for the sixth wicket before both departed within five deliveries, soon after the second new ball had been taken. Harris played on to Will Gidman and Allenby, who hit 13 fours, was caught behind down the legside off Lewis.

Payne claimed his third wicket when Robert Croft edged a low catch to wicketkeeper Richard Coughtrie.