Glamorgan are 103/2 when bad light and rain ended play at 4.45pm after the Welsh county had been put in to bat by promotion-chasing Essex on the opening day of their rain-affected LV=County Championship match on a green-tinged wicket at an overcast Chelmsford.
Murray Goodwin and Ben Wright each secured leg-side boundaries as they glanced Masters and Reece Topley to the ropes behind square. Graham Napier then entered the fray and he also found sufficient movement to find the outside edge of Wright's bat in his second over, but the ball bisected first and second slip and sped away to the ropes for another boundary. The bowler responded with a rasping short delivery next over which nearly beheaded Wright but next over Goodwin unfurled a superb cover drive against the all-rounder.
After Goodwin had brought up the fifty with another drive for two, Masters switched to the Hayes Close End as Topley returned at the River End. Masters operated with four slips, a short-leg and a short extra cover as Essex strove to break the stand, but Wright duly brought up the fifty partnership by deftly cutting Topley for four.
Shortly before lunch, a mix-up in calling nearly saw Wright run out as Ravi Bopara also had a spell at the River End
Graham Napier and Monty Panesar resumed the bowling, with the latter having an over until the lights took effect as Masters switched to the River End. Goodwin duly drilled the veteran off the back foot through the covers for three as raindrops also started to fall, but during the next over the precipitation intensified and forced the players off the field with Glamorgan on 85/2.
Murray Goodwin survived a loud appeal for l.b.w. in Graham Napier's first over after the interval before Ben Wright guided David Masters through backward point for three. Goodwin then leg-glanced Napier for four as heavy drizzle started to fall again forcing the players off the field again after 40.2 overs.
It proved to be only a brief shower as play resumed a quarter of an hour later, with a further four overs lost, but the conditions were still dank with a heavy bank of cloud building up over the ground as Napier and Masters strove to break the stubborn stand, and after ten balls, the light deteriorated and the players left the field again. With conditions not improving, the umpires called off play at 5pm.