Glamorgan 390 for 8 (Labuschagne 93, Carlson 71, Cooke 58) lead Northamptonshire 279 by 111 runs
Northamptonshire had a couple of chances that went begging and a few close lbw shouts that were unsuccessful, but Glamorgan maintained control for most of the day. Luke Procter’s 3 for 36 was the best return for the visitors.
Glamorgan will resume with two first-innings wickets in hand and will be hoping to continue their push for a second Championship victory of the season.
Glamorgan began day two on 36 without loss and Billy Root and Eddie Byrom did a good job at blunting what was left of the new-ball threat with a stand of 63. It was the introduction of the left-arm spin of Liam Patterson-White that brought about the first wicket when Byrom edged his second ball to Privthi Shaw who took a sharp catch at first slip.
Root was dismissed by Justin Broad when he was trapped lbw by a ball that nipped back into him to leave Glamorgan 85 for 2. From there Labuschagne and Carlson batted brilliantly for a stand of 140 that took Glamorgan towards parity with Northamptonshire’s first innings.
Labuschagne and Carlson were busy throughout their stand and ran well to put pressure on the Northamptonshire fielders, scoring at 4.5 runs an over. Labuschagne looked certain to make it to his 10th Glamorgan hundred, but he was also trapped by a Broad inswinger that hit him in front of the stumps.
Sam Northeast hit his first ball to the boundary for four, but he edged Procter behind three balls later. When Carlson fell, Glamorgan had lost three wickets for 42 runs and were in danger of surrendering the strong platform they had built for themselves. With a relatively long tail in this match they needed some lower-order support to take them into the lead.
Timm van der Gugten was promoted to seven and his stand with Cooke put on 68 runs and took Glamorgan into the lead. Van der Gugten was the aggressor, making 41 of those runs from 63 balls. His innings came to an end when he edged the new ball to the keeper McManus off the bowling of Procter.
At the fall of van der Gugten’s wicket Glamorgan were 56 runs in front, a useful lead but not yet a match defining one. Cooke went some way to putting Glamorgan into a winning position with a 120-ball fifty with support from James Harris.
Cooke fell in the closing stages of the day, but Harris and Mason Crane got Glamorgan to the close with the lead past three figures. Pitches in Cardiff have often flattened out as the match progresses, but Glamorgan are far enough in front to think they can push for victory.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo