Cosgrove ton keeps Glamorgan level
Glamorgan opener Mark Cosgrove made his fourth century of the season to ensure the County Championship match with promotion rivals Gloucestershire remains evenly balanced at Cheltenham
31-Jul-2010
Glamorgan opener Mark Cosgrove made his fourth century of the season to ensure the County Championship match with promotion rivals Gloucestershire remains evenly balanced at Cheltenham.
Cosgrove's entertaining 123 included 19 fours and Glamorgan ended the second day's play on 283 for 7 and with an overall lead of 256. In the morning session, James Franklin (59) and Chris Dent (45 not out) had been chiefly responsible for taking Gloucestershire from an overnight 145 for five on to 243 all out and a first-innings lead of 27.
Jim Allenby took three of the final five Gloucestershire wickets to finish with a career-best return of 5 for 59. Glamorgan had to wait 10 overs for their first wicket of the day, which came when nightwatchman Steve Kirby was lbw as he played forward defensively to left-arm spinner Dean Cosker.
Franklin progressed to a 108-ball half-century, with seven fours, and had looked in no trouble until he holed out to Tom Maynard at long-on off Robert Croft. Allenby dismissed Jon Lewis and Vikram Banerjee, caught behind and lbw respectively, in quick succession, but Gemaal Hussain helped Dent add 24 for the last wicket before he too was lbw.
Dent's unbeaten 45 came from just 42 balls and contained three sixes, one hit straight down the ground off Croft and the other two picked up over square leg and mid-wicket off Cosker. Glamorgan made a poor start to their second innings as Franklin won an lbw verdict against Gareth Rees and bowled Tom Maynard to make it 23 for 2 in 10 overs.
But Cosgrove looked in superb form as he took advantage of the short square boundaries and quick outfield to score a high percentage of his runs in boundaries. Ben Wright helped the Australian left-hander put on 61 before he got trapped on his crease and fell lbw to Lewis.
Glamorgan's revival continued with a partnership of 99 for the fourth wicket between Cosgrove and skipper Jamie Dalrymple. Cosgrove reached his 103-ball century just before tea when he cut a delivery from Kirby to third man for three runs. And, such was his dominance of the innings, he had scored 102 out of Glamorgan's 150 for three at tea.
The total had moved on to 183 when Gloucestershire got the breakthrough they badly needed when Cosgrove chopped a delivery from Hussain on to his stumps. Hussain claimed his 48th wicket of the season in his next over when Dalrymple was bowled while attempting an off-drive, and it became 219 for 6 when Kirby had Allenby taken at second slip by Dent.
Kirby struck again when he had James Harris leg before, the 12th lbw of the match, but Mark Wallace and Croft negotiated the remaining nine overs and an exciting finish looks likely on the third day.
Wallace reached a 63-ball half-century in the penultimate over when he struck Lewis for four behind square. He finished on 51 and had put on 42 for the eight wicket so far with Croft, who has 17.
