Cricket: Glamorgan take charge

Glamorgan. .323 and 230-3 Yorkshire. .314

FEW outside Wales would consider Glamorgan serious championship contenders yet they have made a start that many would swap for their own. Against unconvincing opposition here, they may achieve a third victory in five matches so far.

Yorkshire, their own optimism reinforced by decisive defeats of Essex and Hampshire away from home, wasted an opportunity to put themselves in control and Glamorgan have taken advantage. Anchored by a chanceless century by their captain, Hugh Morris, they take a lead of 239 into the last day tomorrow.

Having started the third day at 265 for 4, with Richard Blakey and Craig White soundly established, Yorkshire seemed well placed to overhaul Glamorgan's 323 and build a decent first-innings lead.

But Blakey and White could make only modest additions to their overnight scores and the remainder of the innings was so poor that even the winning of a third batting point, which 35 runs in 20 overs would have achieved, was too great a task.

Yorkshire's end began in the 11th over of the morning when Blakey, having just reached 50, directed an indecisive defensive stroke off Roland Lefebvre to Viv Richards at first slip. The wicket sent Yorkshire into retreat and began for the uninspiring Lefebvre a spell of two for 14 in nine overs.

The pitch was not one to encourage strokeplay but the game's progress was unacceptably slow and after six maidens off the reel the becalmed White surrendered feebly to Steve Barwick, offering a gift catch to short midwicket.

Barwick and Lefebvre gained another scalp each and when Steve Watkin wrapped up the tail Glamorgan had taken the last six Yorkshire wickets for 30 before lunch and acquired a lead that, though slender, awarded them an unexpected initiative.

The dismissal of Stephen James gave Yorkshire an early fillip but Moxon's hope that the left-arm spin of Richard Stemp and Jeremy Batty's off-breaks might find some demons in the pitch was rewarded only once when Adrian Dale gave a leg-side catch behind to White, who had taken over the gauntlets when Blakey left the field.

Morris, meanwhile, advanced serenely to his third century of the season, supported latterly by some batting of high merit from Matthew Maynard, who reached 50 off 73 balls with 10 fours.