A double century partnership between Colin Ingram and Eddie Byrom was the highlight of a run-filled day in Cardiff in the LV= Insurance County Championship match between Glamorgan and Sussex.
The Glamorgan pair both finished the day with undefeated hundreds with Sussex’s first innings lead reduced to 118 and Glamorgan just one wicket down.
The day had started with Oli Carter marshalling the Sussex tail as they plundered 131 runs in 23.4 overs. Carter finished with a career best 185, with Sussex posting 376 all out.
Glamorgan lost David Lloyd early on but from there Ingram and Byrom batted superbly against a green Sussex attack who seemed to have few answers in the face of some class batting.
The hosts reached the close at 258 for one with Ingram on 145 not out and Byrom still undefeated on 105 in a day that saw 389 runs for the loss of just four wickets.
While day one was characterised by patient accumulation, the second day’s play saw runs flowing throughout. By the time 50 overs had been sent down there had been more runs scored than in the 96 overs on the first day.
It was Carter who set the tone as he took the attack to Glamorgan in the morning session. He had resumed on 113 and when he was the last man out he had added 72 runs to his overnight score.
His demise came when he attempted to go for his fifth six of the morning session, with James Weighell taking a simple catch on the boundary. Carter was the fourth wicket for Andrew Salter who bowled 41.4 overs in the Sussex innings.
Carter was well supported by Henry Crocombe and Jack Brooks who both made 36 as Sussex claimed three batting bonus points.
The home team had a tricky 10 minutes to bat before the lunch break and Sussex claimed the wicket of David Lloyd before the interval. The Glamorgan captain edged a ball through to Tim Seifert off the bowling of Sean Hunt in what was to be the only success for the visitors.
The runs continued to flow after the lunch break with Ingram and Byrom sharing an unbeaten stand worth 253. Ingram looked in superb touch from the moment he arrived at the crease, driving the ball both sides of the wicket on his way to his first hundred in first-class cricket since 2017. He reached the landmark from 143 balls with his 19th boundary.
Byrom looked less assured than Ingram at first but he battled hard. His confidence grew steadily as he made his best score for Glamorgan.
Injury meant that he hadn’t played in the County Championship so far this year and his arrival has immediately added some solidity to a Glamorgan top order which has been flaky at times this season. His first hundred for Glamorgan came from 178 balls with a ball clipped through the leg side for four.
Glamorgan finished the day in sight of Sussex’s effort and, with nine first innings wickets remaining, they will be hopeful of posting a significant lead on day three.
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Sussex batting coach Grant Flower said: “We have got a lot of hard work to do in the field tomorrow.
“We have got to bowl better than we did today. We bowled better after tea today, hit our lengths better. I thought Archie Lenham bowled really well. He landed it in good areas and at good pace.
“It is a good batting wicket now. It is very flat but I don’t think I have seen us hit the deck hard enough before tea today and I think they will be the first to admit that. And we are going to have to bat really well.”
Glamorgan’s Colin Ingram, said: “I think I had a really good pre-season and a winter here with the guys in the indoors and doing some of the hard yards – and I just thoroughly enjoyed it out there today.
“The mindset was to look to score. Against the new, hard ball it came on quite nicely so, luckily, I got a few scoring opportunities early.
“Once the ball gets softer and a little older and the field spreads, having played here before, it can be a bit of a grind and look to rotate and take your singles when you can.
“I thought Eddie played brilliantly doing that as well and that created some flow which kept the pressure off.”
