Glamorgan 242
Sussex 65-1
Billy Root’s 66 was the mainstay of the Glamorgan first innings against Sussex, his runs total matching brother Joe’s jokey international number while he also suffered a copycat dismissal.
He ran down the wicket to spinner Jack Carson to be stumped, just like Joe in the second innings of the first Ashes Test against Australia.
In doing so, he ended Glamorgan’s best chance of posting a reasonable total after winning the toss and choosing to bat.
They were all out for 242, falling short of a batting bonus point. Sussex’s Australian all-rounder Nathan McAndrew took 4-58 and off spinner Jack Carson 3-45 as they took regular wickets to peg back the Welsh county’s hopes of a recovery after slipping to 60-4.
Sussex were able to ram home the advantage to reach 65 for 1 at the close, just 177 behind, for the loss of opener Tom Haines. He fell lbw to Timm van der Gugten. who enjoyed a good day with bat and ball.
Glamorgan would have hoped for a better on another sunny day in Cardiff. Andrew Salter, Sam Northeast, Kiran Carlson and Chris Cooke all got starts.
But Zain-ul-Hassan and Thomas Bevan both went cheaply early, leaving Glamorgan four down at lunch with Carlson going shortly afterwards.
It was Sussex’s overseas duo McAndrew and New Zealander Henry Shipley who did most of the early damage, with Root holding the middle order together on his way to a half century.
He had promising partnerships with Carlson and Cooke, with an interesting debate about whether the regular fall of wickets was caused by bad batting, a two-paced pitch or the Kookaburra ball being used in this game.
Root moved chancelessly to his total of 66 when he gave Carson the charge for the first time despite having seen the ball turn prodigiously on occasion.
Bowler Timm van der Gugten has been scoring freely with the bat this season and he continued that fine run of form as partners came and went.
Australian Mitchell Swepson made the briefest of debuts with the bat and when Jamie McIlroy was caught down the leg side off McAndrew, van der Gugten was left stranded short of a half century and Glamorgan were short of a batting point.
It was van der Gugten who made the early breakthrough with the ball as well, pinning Haines lbw on the back foot to give Glamorgan some early hope.
But Tom Clark and Tom Alsop made decent progress for the visitors and soon the seamers gave way to the leg spin of Swepson who was tidy in his first Glamorgan appearance.
He could have taken a wicket when Clark gloved a googly to slip Sam Northeast but the sharp chance was put down.
