Ryder ten-for sends Glamorgan to first defeat

Glamorgan suffered their first Championship defeat of the summer as Essex crushed them by 248 runs in their Division Two match at Chelmsford.

After resuming on 110 for 1, having been left a target of 462, they were bowled out for 213 soon after lunch with only 18-year-old Aneurin Donald putting up much resistance. The teenager caught the eye with some fine strokes either side of the wicket before he tried to square cut a shoulder high delivery from David Masters and was caught behind by James Foster for 67.

Donald's fine innings contained seven fours and one six and served to underline the shortcomings of most of his colleagues. Admittedly, overcast conditions did provide the Essex bowlers with some assistance but not nearly as much as their efforts would imply.

Poor shot-selection speeded Glamorgan's demise and left Essex celebrating a third victory from their last four games. Fittingly it was Jesse Ryder who sealed the win by having Graham Wagg caught at long-off by Graham Napier.

Wagg decided to hit out and struck two sixes on his way to 28 from 18 balls before Ryder had the last word. It gave Ryder 4 for 53 and a match haul of 10 for 100, only the second time in his career he has picked up a ten-wicket haul.

The game from which Essex emerged with 21 points also provided captain Foster with personal satisfaction as he emerged with seven catches, five of them in the second innings. The first of those ended the resistance of his Glamorgan counterpart Jacques Rudolph, who added just 2 to his 45 before Ryder found the edge.

This set the Welsh county on a slippery slope as seven wickets tumbled in the morning session for 72 despite Donald's valiant attempts to keep his side's interest in proceedings alive. But they quickly evaporated as Colin Ingram, Chris Cooke, Mark Wallace and Craig Meschede all departed within 12 overs, only Ingram managing to reach double figures

Masters, with 3 for 37, supplied Ryder with his main support while left-arm spinner Liam Dawson 2 for 34 and Jamie Porter, who ended with 1 for 41, shared the other wickets as Essex were able to avenge the 89-run defeat suffered in Cardiff earlier in the season. Glamorgan return to Wales with just three points and reflecting on a setback that put the brake on their promotion ambitions.