Match report provided by the ECB Reporters Network.
DAY FOUR
Middlesex secured a two wicket victory over Glamorgan in their Vitality County Championship match in Cardiff with Mark Stoneman top scoring in a win that came right down to the last few overs on the fourth day.
Glamorgan were miles behind in this match before 48 runs and five wickets from Mason Crane took them close to victory in a thrilling finish on the final evening.
Middlesex looked to be cruising to victory before a collapse of four for 15 put them in real danger of defeat but they managed to sneak home to claim the win thanks to a 52 run stand for the penultimate wicket between Tom Helm and Jack Davies.
This win gives Middlesex 21 points from this game with Glamorgan securing just two bowling bonus points.
As was the case in the first innings, runs from Zain ul Hassan and Crane kept Glamorgan in the hunt in this match. The pair had been the top scorers in Glamorgan’s under par batting efforts on day one, and here they put on a stand of 61 to take the lead past 200.
Zain was the first to go when he turned a ball into the leg side for an easy catch for Ryan Higgins off the bowling of Ethan Bamber for 34, the same score he managed in the first innings.
Crane looked to take the fight to Middlesex as he batted with Andy Gorvin. The pair had put on another 17 runs when Gorvin gave a catch to point off the bowling of Luke Hollman. It was also Hollman who claimed the final wicket when he dismissed Crane for 48 with a thick edge that was well taken by wicket-keeper, Jack Davies.
Middlesex started their chase brightly with Sam Robson and Mark Stoneman putting on a stand worth 65. Robson was the first wicket to fall when he was dismissed by Andy Gorvin for 31. He chopped the ball on to his stumps, the sixth time this had happened in this match as the two paced nature of this Cardiff surface continued to make an impact.
Mason Crane got the ball to turn big once he was introduced to the attack and he made the next breakthrough when he spun one past an attempted sweep from Max Holman to bowl him for 28.
Crane had a huge shout for lbw against Leus du Plooy which was turned down, but Harris got him in the very next over when he struck his pads in front and the umpire gave the decision in the bowler’s favour.
Crane had Higgins caught behind for 1 and as the game headed into the final session of the match, it was nicely poised with Glamorgan needing six wickets on a pitch that was getting increasingly hard to bat on and Middlesex still 93 runs short of their victory target.
Crane made another breakthrough when he had Nathan Fernandes caught at slip but the moment that created this thrilling finish was when Gorvin got Stoneman caught by Cooke for 63.
Two wickets in two balls from Crane to dismiss both Toby Roland-Jones and Luke Hollman without scoring left this game on a knife edge before the ninth wicket stand between Davies and Helm took Middlesex to victory with just five overs left in the match.
DAY THREE
Glamorgan set about fighting their way back into their Vitality County Championship fixture against Middlesex on the third day with centuries from Colin Ingram and Marnus Labuschagne helping them to reach 294 for seven at the close. However, both batters were dismissed before the end of the day, leaving Glamorgan in a precarious position in this match.
The day began with Middlesex still batting in their first innings and looking to extend their lead. Some disciplined bowling saw Glamorgan take the final four Middlesex wickets for 40 runs as they went from 303 for six to to 343 all out.
There were three early wickets in the Glamorgan innings but the 156 run stand between Labuschagne and Ingram allowed Glamorgan to erase the deficit and give them a chance of saving this game.
Glamorgan go into the final day with a lead of 134 but will need further batting heroics to prevent their first defeat of the season.
Glamorgan started the day trailing Middlesex by 120 runs on first innings and in need of quick wickets to get back into this contest. They had an early breakthrough when Andy Gorvin bowled Tom Helm with a lovely ball that ducked in sharply.
Jamie McIlroy bowled well on the third morning and was rewarded with his second wicket when he trapped Jack Davies lbw to a ball that the batter left alone. That left Middlesex 324 for eight. That became 330 for nine when Luke Hollman chopped a ball onto his stumps for 3.
The final wicket of the Middlesex innings fell when Toby Roland-Jones was lbw to Mason Crane. Middlesex were160 runs in front of Glamorgan’s first innings total. While wickets fell at the other end, Higgins batted beautifully for his 75 not out.
Glamorgan started their second innings batting efforts in a similar fashion to how they played on the first day with Eddie Byrom looking to be aggressive. They reached the lunch break at 33 for none but shortly after the resumption Byrom was bowled by Higgins for 24.
Sam Northeast was dismissed for a 6 ball duck when he was caught at short mid-wicket off the bowling of Higgins to leave Glamorgan 45 for two, still 115 runs behind Middlesex.
Kiran Carlson was bowled by Tom Helm for 15 when he chopped on. He was the fifth batter to fall to a ball that was hit into their stumps in this match. Glamorgan were 79 for three at the fall of his wicket, still significantly behind Middlesex and in need of a partnership.
That is what they got from their two overseas players. The decision to leave out Pakistan international bowler Mir Hamza in favour of picking both Ingram and Labuschagne was a matter for much debate on the first morning of this match, but sizeable stand between these two hugely experienced players went some way to justifying the decision.
Labuschagne took time to get settled but became more attacking as he settled into his innings, going to fifty with back-to-back boundaries off Luke Holman. Ingram looked to be more attacking and he hit 15 fours and a six on his way to his fourth hundred of the season.
Labuschagne fell to the bowling of Hollman after reaching his ninth century for Glamorgan and Ingram was dismissed for 105 by Helm. With James Harris and Chris Cooke before going before the close it leaves Middlesex as favourites to secure victory in this match.
DAY TWO
A brilliant hundred from Mark Stoneman put Middlesex in command of their Vitality County Championship fixture against Glamorgan in Cardiff.
Having resumed on 62 without loss, Middlesex reached 303 for six at the close, 120 runs in front of Glamorgan on first innings. Stoneman’s excellent 129 backed up the excellent bowling effort from Middlesex as the visitors took complete control of this match.
There were starts all of the Middlesex top order but three wickets from James Harris pegged back their progress. Ryan Higgins was the only player other than Stoneman to make a significant contribution as he finished the day on 53 not out.
With two days left in this game Middlesex will be hopeful of pushing for their second victory of the season to cement their place in the promotion spots at the top of Division Two.
Stoneman and Sam Robson looked comfortable against the Glamorgan attack in the first hour of the day’s play. Stoneman reached fifty from 76 balls and Robson was starting to find some fluency when the first wicket fell.
Robson attempted a pull shot off James Harris and the ball got a big on him and he looped a catch to Marnus Labuschagne at mid-wicket. It was one of the few balls that seemed to hurry a Middlesex batter in the first session with the opening pair putting on 97.
Stoneman was joined by Max Holden and the two went about chasing down Glamorgan’s first innings total of 183. They took the score to 170 for one at the lunch break with Stoneman undefeated on 99.
It was the second ball after the lunch break when Stoneman reached his first century of the 2024 season, and his sixth for Middlesex. It was that same over when the stand of 74 between Stoneman and Holden was broken when the latter gloved a ball down the leg side to wicket-keeper Chris Cooke.
Leus du Plooy played some lovely shots during his brief stay at the crease but he fell in similar fashion to Robson. A short ball from Harris appeared to surprise him and he managed to edge the ball on to his stumps for 15.
Stoneman continued to look untroubled and when his wicket did come it was something of a surprise. He played a slog sweep off Kiran Carlson that came off the toe of his bat and he was easily caught at mid-on by Andy Gorvin for a brilliant hundred.
As Stoneman’s wicket fell, Middlesex were in front, but only by 52. There was a danger that a further flurry of wickets would undo a lot of the hard work Middlesex had put in to get themselves into that position. Some of those fears were allayed with a solid stand of 64 between Ryan Higgins and Nathan Fernandes that took Middlesex to 297 for five.
A heavy rain shower meant that tea was taken slightly early and it kept the players off the field for more than an hour and took 16 out of the game. When play did resume Higgins reached another half century as his run tally for the season passed 500.
A further wicket fell before the close when Ethan Bamber was unfortunate to be run out via a drive from Higgins that Jamie McIlroy got his finger tips to before it smashed into the stumps at the non-strikers end.
DAY ONE
Middlesex took charge of their Vitality County Championship match against Glamorgan in Cardiff, finishing the day on 62 without loss having bowled out the hosts for 183.
It was Tom Helm who was the most impressive of the bowlers, claiming four for 44 as Middlesex made the most of the decision to bowl first. He was well supported by Ethan Bamber, Toby Roland-Jones and Ryan Higgins who chipped in with wickets.
The top scorer for Glamorgan was Zain ul Hassan who made 34 after the top order had been removed by the Middlesex seamers.
Middlesex batted for 21 overs at the end of the day and were 122 runs behind Glamorgan’s first innings total at the close.
The Glamorgan openers started out positively with Marnus Labuschagne and Eddie Byrom scoring nine boundaries inside the opening hour of the game. Labuschagne was showing a lot of attacking intent throughout his stay at the crease and this is what led to his downfall. He drove hard at a ball from Tom Helm and was caught by wicket-keeper Jack Davies.
It was the introduction of Ryan Higgins that brought about the end of Byrom, a sharp bouncer taking his gloves and ballooning up for a simple catch by Davies. Kiran Carlson was the next to go, and as with Labuschagne he drove at a ball with hard hands that was caught in the slips by Higgins.
When these two teams met in the first match of the season Sam Northeast made the highest score at Lord’s when he plundered 335 not out from this attack. It was a different story here as he struggled to get started and never really settled. He was bowled by a snorter of a delivery from Helm that tore his off stump out the ground.
When Helm dismissed Chris Cooke two balls later when he bowled him with a ball the batter left alone Glamorgan were 92 for five. That became 92 for six when Colin Ingram, the leading run scorer in first class cricket this season, played a ball onto his stumps for 10 off the bowling of Bamber.
Amidst the wickets tumbling at the other end Zain ul Hassan was playing a tidy innings and had reached 34 when he was caught at slip by Leus du Plooy via an attempted reverse pull and Glamorgan had stumbled to 103 for seven.
Andy Gorvin and Mason Crane held up the Middlesex attack for a stand of 31 before Gorvin was caught off a top-edged hook shot for 12.
Mason Crane made a career best 61 against Northamptonshire in April and he showed good application with the bat in this game as he finished undefeated on 32. It was his runs that allowed Glamorgan to reach the total that they did after the top order collapse.
Sam Robson and Mark Stoneman made the Glamorgan total look a long way under par as they navigated the new ball without much difficulty. Stoneman was the more fluent of the two as he made it to 43 not out at the close. Robson was undefeated on a patient 18 from 57 balls at the other end.
Glamorgan
Middlesex
