Bowlers shine as 17 wickets fall in Glam v Hants

Rothesay County Championship, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (day one)

Hampshire 162 (40.2 overs): Lehmann 51*; Ul Hassan 3-33, Hamza 3-39

Glamorgan 111-7 (38 overs): Kellaway 57; Abbott 3-23, Baker 2-3

Match scorecard

Glamorgan 3 pts, Hampshire 2 pts

England paceman Sonny Baker made a sensational late entrance as Hampshire reduced Glamorgan to 111-7 in reply to the visitors' modest 162 all out in Cardiff.

Supersub Baker took two wickets in his first over after being released from the Test squad at Lord's.

Veteran South African Kyle Abbott (3-23) was Glamorgan's main tormentor despite a fluent 57 from Ben Kellaway.

Jake Lehmann (51 not out) held the visitors together against a marauding home seam attack, with Zain Ul Hassan and Mir Hamza taking three wickets each.

Humid conditions and a bowler-friendly pitch made batting a battle, as it was a welcome surprise to see most of a day's play given a poor forecast.

Glamorgan brought in Dan Douthwaite for his first red-ball game in two years in place of the injured Andy Gorvin, while Pakistan paceman Mir Hamza, briefly with Glamorgan in 2024, replaced Kiwi Ray Toole as the overseas bowler.

Hampshire fielded seamer James Fuller in place of Felix Organ given the damp conditions, while Scott Currie started the game pending Baker's England release.

Nick Gubbins fell early caught at slip off Timm van der Gugten just before a brief bad-light break, while Toby Albert (10) began grittily before losing his off-stump to Ul Hassan.

Ali Orr and Lehmann briefly put Hampshire back in the game, but Ul Hassan trapped Orr lbw for 35 and Lehmann could not find any lasting support for the rest of the innings, Kyle Abbott swinging hard for 16 as the only other player in double figures.

But Van der Gugten, Hamza and Ul Hassan were mostly tight and threatening with the ball in humid conditions, while Douthwaite also claimed two wickets despite leaking runs.

Hampshire's score soon looked a whole lot better after a superb first over from Eddie Jack, whose extra pace and bounce saw both Asa Tribe and Kiran Carlson smartly caught at third slip by Lehmann without scoring.

Ul Hassan became the third duck in a row on the card, lbw to Abbott, as Glamorgan crashed to 2-3.

Colin Ingram (32) helped Kellaway add 65 for the fourth wicket, the biggest stand so far, but Abbott's second spell saw him have Ingram adjudged lbw and rip through the defences of Sean Dickson.

Kellaway batted fluently, striking eight fours on his way to becoming the day's top scorer in a season where he has gone up to number four in the batting order.

After a lengthy warm-up on the sidelines, Baker entered the fray at 97-5, came into the attack one over later and made his presence felt straightaway.

He struck Chris Cooke on the pad, beat his outside edge next ball and struck Cooke's stumps with his third.

Even more importantly, Kellaway was caught behind off Baker's sixth ball.

Bad light ended play with 15 overs still remaining with bottom side Hampshire looking set for a first innings lead, but a poor forecast making the progress of the match uncertain.

Glamorgan's Ben Kellaway said:

"17 wickets on the first day with a few stoppages, it was an interesting day. It was bowler-friendly conditions very overcast, slightly damp and winning the toss helps.

"We bowled really well and got our rewards, but couldn't quite transfer that momentum into the batting innings.

"(Batting well) is about trying to dig in, make good decisions and ride a bit of luck.

"(Baker) came on fresh late in the day, getting dark and bowled nicely. It's a bit frustrating, it's a change to face a young speedster and we unfortunately lost those two wickets to him."

Hampshire's Jake Lehmann said:

"It was a bowler-friendly day with the overhead conditions, a bit of nip, some nice bounce and carry. I don't think it was a 17-wicket day, we probably could have got to 230-250.

"We started really well with the ball and put them on the back foot, but we've got to find another three wickets. Hopefully it flattens out a bit when we get batting.

"To have Sonny to come back at the end, it's fortunate for us and it's great from the ECB to get the players that are not playing for England back playing county cricket and creating the best competition we can."