After rain overnight and first thing this morning, play is set to begin at 1.30pm with 75 overs remaining and Glamorgan making two changes to their line-up, with Ruaidhri Smith and Ben Wright replacing James Kettleborough and the injured David Lloyd from the side which defeated Essex in the previous Championship match at Glamorgan's headquarters. Glamorgan therefore line-up as follows - JA Rudolph, WD Bragg, CA Ingram, CB Cooke, BJ Wright, MA Wallace, GG Wagg, CAJ Meschede, RAJ Smith, AG Salter and MG Hogan.
Like Glamorgan, Northamptonshire have one victory to their credit so far this season, with the East Midlands side defeating neighbours Leicestershire by 92 runs at Grace Road with Mohammad Azharullah claiming a six-wicket match haul and Rory Kleinveldt a return of 4/87 in the home team's second innings as they fell short of their target on the final day.
The last two matches between the two sides in the LV=County Championship at Cardiff both ended in draws, with the weather playing a hand in the contests in 2012 and 2013, but Glamorgan were victorious in May 2010 when they inflicted an innings defeat over the East Midlands side thanks to a century from Jamie Dalrymple.
The first four wickets were all l.b.w.
Teatime report
After the razzamatazz of Friday evening's NatWest T20 Blast, it was back to the bread and butter of Championship cricket for both teams as Glamorgan met a Northamptonshire side who started the game two points and one place above the Welsh county who occupy fourth spot in the Division Two table behind leaders Lancashire, second-placed Surrey and their current opponents from the East Midlands.
Following overnight rain and drizzle first thing, play began at 1.30pm with 75 overs remaining in the day's quota. Northamptonshire won the toss and opted to bowl first with the Welsh county making a couple of changes to their line-up, as Ruaidhri Smith and Ben Wright replaced James Kettleborough and the injured David Lloyd from the side which defeated Essex in the previous Championship match at Glamorgan's headquarters. This meant that Will Bragg opened the batting with Jacques Rudolph when play got underway after a blank morning session.
As Alex Wakely was absent on paternity leave, David Willey acted as captain of the visiting side, and his decision to bowl first was soon vindicated and in his second over, he trapped Rudolph l.b.w. With Glamorgan on 9/1 Wright joined Bragg, and he was quickly into his stride as he cover drove Rory Kleinveldt for four, but the South African struck with his next delivery as in the following over, Bragg also became an l.b.w. victim.
Colin Ingram then joined Wright who clipped Willey to square-leg for four before guiding the acting captain to third man for three. Mohammad Azharullah then replaced Willey at the Cathedral Road End and the Pakistani was edged through the slips by Wright. Ingram then did the same against Kleinveldt before cutting him through point for four. After the 50 came up in the 18
th over, Ingram straight-drove Maurice Chambers for four, but with the total on 65, Wright became the third man to depart l.b.w. as Azharullah had an appeal upheld with the visitors claiming their first bowling point.
Ingram responded by cutting, pulling and square-driving the Pakistani for four in the space of seven balls. He continued in assertive mode as he swatted Chambers through point for another four before punching Willey off the back foot through the covers when the acting captain returned in place of Azharullah. But two balls later, Willey ended Ingram's stay as he also departed leg before with the total on 92.
Cooke nurdled Willey through the slip cordon for four before scything the all-rounder through the covers for four. Mark Wallace began by doing the same against Chambers but two balls later he miscued a drive against the pace bowler and spooned a ball back into his hands. Cooke then glanced Willey to the ropes at fine-leg before despatching the next ball through the covers for fours from successive balls. He then biffed Willey through backward point for another boundary before Graham Wagg began with an on-drive against Chambers followed by a blow through point against Willey. But Azharullah returned to deliver the final over of the session and with the last ball before tea he had Wagg caught at third slip.
221 runs were scored between tea and the close
Close of Play report
Having lost Graham Wagg to the final ball before tea, Craig Meschede was Chris Cooke's new partner when play resumed and the all-rounder began by on-driving Rory Kleinveldt before nonchalantly doing the same to Mohammad Azharullah. He twice despatched Kleinveldt through mid-off for four before Cooke inside-edged a drive against the Springbok with the ball speeding away to fine-leg for four.
Cook also square-cut Azharullah for four before Meschede lofted Josh Cobb's off-spin over the River Stand for six. A single in the spinner's next over saw Cooke reach 50 from 68 balls, whilst Meschede drilled Cobb through mid-off for four. He then greeted the return of Chambers by glancing him to long-leg for another boundary, with Cooke also cover-driving Willey and straight-driving Chambers to add to his boundary tally.
Meschede then drilled Chambers inside-out over mid-off for four before swatting him over the head of gully to complete a 57-ball fifty. Cook then guided Willey through the slips for another four before pulling him for four to bring up the century stand and to see Glamorgan to a second batting point, But with the total on 258 he edged a cut against Cobb, with Kleinveldt taking a tumbling catch at first slip as Cooke departed for 73 to end a stand of 108 in 20.3 overs.
But Meschede continued to find the ropes striking Cobb for three leg-side fours in succession, followed by another booming off-drive. Kleinveldt then replaced the spinner but Meschede deftly glided him through the slips for two fours, followed by a leg-glance to the ropes as Glamorgan secured another batting point in the 61
st over with Meschede moving closer to his second Championship century of the summer at Cardiff.
But with the total on 304, Kleinveldt trapped Andrew Salter leg before. Smith then cover drove Azharullah for four before Meschede pulled chambers for four, before completing a 95-ball hundred with a clip to mid-wicket for two. Smith then flicked Chambers to square-leg and mid-wicket for a pair of fours from successive balls before pulling Kleinveldt into the Grandstand for six.
The Twenty20 tempo continued as Smith bludgeoned Chambers to square-leg for four before drilling the bowler to mid-off and backward point as the 350 came up in the 69
th over. He then celebrated by safely swatting the next ball over the wicket-keeper's head for the fourth boundary of the over, which he then followed next over with a rasping cover drive against Kleinveldt.
But their stand ended as Meschede lofted Kyle Coetzer to long-on where Willey held the catch. Smith replied by hoisting Coetzer to mid-wicket for another four but Hogan then lofted a ball high to mid-off as Glamorgan ended on 371 and Smith one short of a half-century. The visitors then survived the one over remaining of a remarkable day's play
