Gloucestershire on top at Cardiff

Gloucestershire ended another rain interupted day at Sophia Gardens, well on top of their match with Glamorgan. The West Country team are 191 runs ahead of Glamorgan who have already lost 3 wickets in their second innings, finishing on 70-3 after Gloucestershire had declared their first innings on 400-8, with David Harrison returning career-best figures of 5-80.

Play began three-quarters of an hour late with the visitors on 232-4, and they had added a further 32 runs when David Harrison took his fourth wicket of the innings as he yorked Ian Butler who had come to the crease on Friday evening as a nightwatchman.

Alex Wharf bowled an accurate spell from the Cathedral Road End, and his control was rewarded when he trapped Mark Alleyne leg before to secure Glamorgan`s second bowling point before a mid-afternoon squall forced the players off the field for another hour.

Glamorgan took the new ball when play resumed at 4 p.m., and Mike Kasprowicz immediately struck thanks to some acrobatic fielding by Matthew Maynard, as Jack Russell edged a delivery from the Australian into the slips. The ball was parried initially by Mike Powell at first slip, before Maynard, who was standing at second slip, dived full length to hold onto the rebound.

Soon afterwards David Harrison picked up his fifth victim of the innings, as Matt Windows edged an away swinger to wicket-keeper Mark Wallace, but Jon Lewis then came in, and with a mixture of good fortune and unorthodox strokeplay, he flamboyantly took Gloucestershire to the 400 run mark, whereupon captain Alleyne immediately declared with a 261 run lead.

There were 25 overs remaining when Glamorgan`s second innings began, and the Gloucestershire bowlers struck in the 8th over of the innings as Ian Thomas edged a ball from Ian Butler into the hands of Jack Russell. 28-1 then became 39-2 when Adrian Dale fended Jon Lewis` second delivery into the hands of Mark Alleyne in the slips. Mike Powell drove a couple of crisply struck boundaries, but with three overs remaining, he was trapped leg before by Jon Lewis.

If the weather stays fine tomorrow, Gloucestershire could record their first Championship win at the Cardiff ground since 1986.