Glamorgan in command, despite top-flight bid taking a knock
Leicestershire will resume on 32 for 2, needing a further 392 to win
ECB Reporters Network
18-Sep-2019
Kraigg Brathwaite raises his bat after getting to his century • Randy Brooks/AFP
Leicestershire 263 (Wright 60, Patel 4-58) and 32 for 2 (Carey 2-10) trail Glamorgan 435 and 251 for 5 dec (Brathwaite 103*) by 391 runs
Although Glamorgan's hopes of gaining promotion to Division One have diminished following Gloucestershire's win in three days and Northants' dominant position against Durham, the Welsh county should win their fourth championship game of the season on the final day.
Leicestershire will resume on 32 for 2, needing a further 392 to win, with Hassan Azad on 15 not out and the former Glamorgan batsman Mark Cosgrove, three.
Glamorgan have set Leicestershire the improbable target of 424 from a minimum of 113 overs, and although spin was likely to play a decisive part, it was Lukas Carey, getting movement from the pitch, who took the first two wickets in his second and third overs. He had Paul Horton caught by the wicketkeeper, then had Colin Ackermann held by David Lloyd at slip.
Glamorgan declared on 251 for 5 in their second innings and would have declared earlier had they not allowed Kraigg Brathwaite to reach his century in only the second of three games he is playing until the end of the season.
The West Indies opening batsman was at the crease for the duration, facing 189 balls and striking a six and 12 fours for his unbeaten 103. Not a flamboyant stroke player - he has a moderate strike rate of 40 in his Test career- Brathwaite and is selective in his approach. However, depending on his availability, he would be a useful Championship overseas player for any county, having played 56 Tests with eight centuries and 17 fifties.
Brathwaite, schooled at Combermere College in Barbados where past pupils include Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer, shared useful partnerships, notably with Chris Cooke, who scored 44 and put on 80 with Brathwaite for the fifth wicket.
Leicestershire's 10th-wicket pair, Chris Wright and Will Davis, had frustrated Glamorgan's bowlers in the morning session by adding 92 runs, with Wright scoring 60 and Davis a career-best 39 not out. Had they added another three runs they would have eclipsed the previous record for the final wicket for Leicestershire against Glamorgan - set by Dieter Klein and Gavin Griffiths on this ground last season.
