Ben Curran eyes fifty as Northamptonshire face final-day hold-out for draw with Glamorgan

Glamorgan's push for a second win in this season's Specsavers County Championship was held up by bad weather on the third afternoon at Wantage Road, preventing any play after lunch with Northamptonshire closing on 68 without loss, trailing by 270 runs.

Having taken a first-innings lead of 338 after finally being bowled out for 547, Glamorgan only had time for 18 overs in Northants' second innings until lunch.

The rain was a big help to Northants' chances of saving the match. They began their second innings with 186 overs remaining in the game but with two sessions lost, 72 of those were scratched. They are still left, for the second game in succession, with the final day to bat out to salvage a draw having been well behind the game.

Ben Curran gave their hopes a boost in making a fluent 48 before the weather closed in. Playing the ball late, he flicked Dan Douthwaite for four before cutting the same bowler for another boundary. Ricardo Vasconcelos was scratchy at the other end and survived two large lbw appeals but also got through, 18 not out.

The weight of scoreboard pressure was made heavier by a 46-minute blast by Glamorgan's No. 10 and 11, Tim van der Gugten and Michael Hogan at the start of the day. They flogged 95 runs in 69 balls to boost the visitors' overnight 452 for 9.

Hogan began the fun by clearing his front leg to heave Ben Sanderson into the trees behind deep square and struck another maximum over deep cover to the short side of the ground. He reached just his third first-class fifty in 44 balls before finally holing out to long-off for 54.

Van der Gugten also enjoyed himself, uppercutting Nathan Buck for six over third man and driving a boundary wide of long-off in making 30 from 26 balls.