Glamorgan's seamers spark fightback
Glamorgan seamers James Harris and Huw Waters dragged their side back into contention by sharing six wickets in the County Championship promotion battle against Sussex at Hove
29-Aug-2010
Glamorgan seamers James Harris and Huw Waters dragged their side back into contention by sharing six wickets in the County Championship promotion battle against Sussex at Hove. Harris reached 50 wickets in a season for the first time in his career while Waters produced an inspired burst of 3 for 2 in twenty balls after lunch just when it looked as if the leaders would take control.
Sussex slumped from 166 for 3 to 250 all out in the afternoon session, losing eight wickets for 84 runs to concede a first innings deficit of 50. After tea 17 overs were lost to rain and Glamorgan closed on 37 for 1, an overall lead of 87 going into the final day.
Their best chance of winning the game and closing the twenty-point lead Sussex had going into the match will be to score quickly in the first session on Monday although their hopes suffered a setback before the close when Australian left-hander Mark Cosgrove fell for 9. Cosgrove, who made 142 in the first innings, was superbly caught one-handed by Chris Nash on the square leg boundary off Yasir Arafat.
Six batsmen earlier fell to leg before decisions, the first of them Nash who had added five runs to his overnight 14 when he was squared up by Harris in the fourth over of the day. Dean Cosker could have been celebrating twice in his first over but skipper Mark Wallace missed an easy stumping to reprieve Ed Joyce on 26 and Ben Brown was dropped by Waters running back from mid-on.
Brown made his third successive Championship half-century, studding his run-a-ball 58 with 11 boundaries, but after adding 72 in 16 overs he was bowled by Jim Allenby playing across the line. Murray Goodwin maintained the attacking tempo as Sussex scored 136 runs in the session but the game changed the first ball after lunch when Harris had Goodwin leg before.
Joyce, who added just three runs in 30 minutes after the interval, played back to Harris for 56 and Luke Wright became Waters' first victim when he was bowled offering no shot. Waters picked up Mike Yardy and Arafat in successive overs and the tail was mopped by left-arm spinner Cosker.
Andy Hodd, who had held the lower order together with 26, was leg before offering no shot and James Anyon fell in similar fashion to end the innings, Monty Panesar having fallen to Allenby in the previous over.
