Salter helps Glamorgan to first victory

Glamorgan 314 (Rudolph 82, Meschede 68) and 270 (Wallace 79) beat Essex 221 (Wagg 5-54) and 274 (ten Doeschate 74*) by 89 runs
Scorecard

Glamorgan secured their first LV= County Championship win of the season with 30 overs to spare on Thursday despite a spirited effort from Essex's batsmen in Cardiff.

After their disappointing first-innings performance, many expected the visitors to fold quickly, but to their credit they took the game into the final session and if any of the other batsman could have shared a substantial partnership with Ryan ten Doeschate they could have pulled off an unexpected win.

On a pitch which helped the quicker bowlers, Glamorgan were without their fourth seamer David Lloyd for all but 4.2 overs of the game, but the others performed admirably - especially young offspinner Andrew Salter in his first Championship game of the campaign - as the hosts secured an 89-run triumph.

Resuming on 51 for 2 in pursuit of a victory target of 364, Dan Lawrence and nightwatchman Jamie Porter defied the Glamorgan attack for 57 minutes before Salter had Lawrence caught at mid-wicket.

Salter then then took a return catch to remove James Foster, but Porter faced 93 balls before he was finally bowled by Michael Hogan for 34. Ten Doeschate then had useful support from their younger brigade, namely Kishen Velani and Callum Taylor.

Twenty-year-old Velani was unlucky to play on to Hogan before 17-year-old Taylor, who had added 44 with ten Doeschate, edged to first slip. With ten Doeschate and Graham Napier at the crease at the tea interval, Essex needed 110 more runs and Glamorgan three wickets.

But as soon as Hogan and Craig Meschede took the new ball Essex lost their last three wickets for just five runs. Napier fell for 8, Adeel Malik 2, and David Masters without troubling the scorers as Essex were dismissed for 274.

After drawing their first four games and winning the fifth, Glamorgan are now well placed at third position in Division Two and unbeaten in all competitions.

Glamorgan coach Toby Radford said: "I'm very pleased with the all-round performance, especially today, when we were without David Lloyd, our fourth seamer.

"Although there was some help for the quicker bowlers, there were times when the pitch became placid and it was hard work. It was also good to see Andrew Salter contribute so well in only his first championship game of the season."

Essex coach Paul Grayson said: "I'm disappointed overall, especially the way we collapsed in the first innings, but pleased by the character of the young lads today. If we show the same fight for the rest of the season, we will be alright.''