Gloucestershire were 228/8 when bad light ended play after 82.1 overs on the opening day of their LV=County Championship match against Glamorgan at the SWALEC Stadium.
As at Lord's on Saturday, Michael Hogan and Jim Allenby opened the bowling with the overhead conditions being similar to St. John's Wood with a thick cloud cover and a little bit of moisture in the air. Given the bowler-friendly conditions it was no surprise that Hogan struck early, having gone into this game needing one wicket to round off his hugely successful first season with the Welsh county by reaching the landmark of 100 wickets in all forms of the game. With the first ball of his fourth over he bowled Gareth Roderick to reach this milestone and become the first Glamorgan bowler to reach the landmark since Michael Kasprowicz in 2003.
With the total on 12, Alex Gidman joined Chris Dent and led a watchfully recovery with the latter - who scored 151 in the YB40 game at the ground earlier in the season - collecting a brace of boundaries with a series of drives through the leg-side. Gidman also struck Ruaidhri Smith for two fours in his opening over when the youngster replaced the accurate Allenby who had also had a series of l.b.w. shouts turned down as the bowler extracted lateral movement.
A leg-glance by Dent saw Gloucestershire reach the 50-mark in the 19th over before Hogan returned at the Cathedral Road End and was cover driven by Gidman for four. Dent then on-drove Wagg before nearly being caught at second slip as Smith switched ends. The youngster also beat the outside edge of Gidman's bat before Chris Dent completed his fifty from 77 balls shortly before lunch.
Acting captain Hamish Marshall duly brought the hundred up for his side in the 36th over as he off-drove Hogan, with Dent also flicking Allenby to fine-leg for another four. The opener then greeted the return of Dean Cosker by lofting him straight for four and then next ball flicking him through mid-wicket Dent also steered Wagg, back in medium-pace mode, through extra-cover for four, before carving him over the head of the slip cordon.
Dent found the ropes again as he off-drove Cosker for four, but the canny spinner had the last laugh as three balls later, the opener edged into Allenby's hands at slip as Glamorgan secured their first bonus point. It immediately became 133/3 as next ball Iain Cockbain edged a sharply turning and lifting delivery into Allenby's hands. Will Gidman duly survived the hat-trick ball as the veteran spinner failed to emulate the feat of Robert Croft who had claimed a Championship hat-trick against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham College in 2010.
Marshall responded by lifting Cosker over long-off for six as together with Gidman minor they watchfully attempted to rebuild the Gloucestershire innings. But with the total on 156, and ten short of reaching his 1,000 runs for the season, Marshall edged a jubilant Wagg into Wallace's gloves. Abergavenny-born Cameron Herring duly joined Gidman and saw Gloucestershire to 176 when in the penultimate over before the tea interval, Hogan returned and trapped the young wicket-keeper leg before.
Michael Hogan and Dean Cosker duly resumed the bowling with the latter nearly having Benny Howell caught at slip as he edged the spinner. The batsman responded by drilling Cosker over long-on and mid-wicket for a pair of sixes as Gloucestershire secured their first batting point in the 70th over.
Ruaidhri Smith returned to the attack and was cover driven on a couple of occasions, but on 219, he bowled Benny Howell as the visitor's lost their seventh wicket, and the youngster then made it eight down as Gidman edged into Wallace's gloves. With Gloucestershire on 226/8 after 80 overs, Glamorgan took the new ball, but with the cloud cover having increased, the light deteriorated and forced the players off the field two overs later.
With the light deteriorating play was called off shortly before 5.30pm
