The first two days of this contest have seen a heavy cloud cover each morning over the Wantage Road ground and coupled with the green-tinged surface, the overhead conditions were a great ally for Rory Kleinveldt who produced a high-class spell of seam bowling to fillet Glamorgan's top order. After Mark Wallace had unfortunately departed with a calf injury, David Lloyd took up the cudgels yesterday afternoon with an assertive and career-best innings which had put Glamorgan in with a decent chance of securing at least a batting point and achieving a par score on the well-grassed surafce.
In contrast to previous morning's, today dawned bright and sunny, with the players being greeted by clear skies and autumnal sunshine as they arrived at the ground ahead of the third day's play. There was though the prospect of further disruption hanging over everyone like the Sword of Damacles as the remnants of tropical storm Henri make their way north from the English Channel during the course of the day, accompanied by torrential rain and thunderstorms.
But with plenty of blue sky overhead, play began promptly at 10.30 a.m. as Lloyd resumed with Andrew Salter, with the former picking up where he left off last night with some fluent drives in front of the wicket against Kleinveldt and Ollie Stone. Salter savagely pulled Kleinveldt for four to square-leg before Lloyd nonchalantly repeated the stroke.
Their jaunty stand ended with the total on 194 as Salter sparred at a rising delivery from Stone with Richard Gleeson at leg-slip pouching the ball as it lobbed up into the air. Dewi Penrhyn Jones duly joined his fellow North Walian with four leg-byes off his pads seeing the first batting point being secured. Another pull for four against Stone took Lloyd closer to a maiden Championship hundred, but on 87 he had a life as Stone at first slip dropped an outside edge from the Glamorgan batsman. Much to the angst of Kleinveldt.
Lloyd celebrated his good fortune by square-cutting the Springbok for four whilst Penrhyn Jones did the same next over to record his first boundary, before adding a second as he nurdled Stone through the slip cordon. But shortly afterwards he edged Stone to third slip where Robbie Newton completed the catch. With Glamorgan on 232/8 and Lloyd unbeaten on 91, Michael Hogan made his way to the middle, but after a further single, Lloyd's innings came to an end as Gleeson, running and diving full length at deep backward point, held a catch.
With Mark Wallace hors de combat, it was Graham Wagg who led Glamorgan into the field, with Chris Cooke donning the wicket-keeping gloves and Jeremy Lawlor acting as twelfth man, and the temporary captain soon had plenty to smile about as Newton edged the second ball of Craig Meschede's opening over with Michael Hogan taking a fine diving catch at second slip. Ben Duckett responded by drilling successive balls from Hogan for four through mid-off and cover. Meschede then found the edge of his bat but the ball just dropped short of Hogan as he dived forward in the hope of claiming his second catch.
Duckett responded by cutting Meschede for four before Alex Wakely pulled and on-drove the all-rounder for successive fours, followed by a steer through backward point against Hogan. Wagg and Penrhyn Jones then delivered the closing overs before lunch, with the latter claiming his maiden wicket as Duckett edged into Cooke's gloves as the home side went to lunch on 52/2.
After Dewi Penrhyn Jones had taken a wicket with the final ball of the morning session, Rob Keogh joined Alex Wakely as Northants resumed under an ever-thickening bank of cloud. Wakely edged Penrhyn Jones to the vacant third man boundary whilst Wagg twice beat the outside edge of Keogh's bat. The number four then got his radar working as he cover drove Wagg for four before off-driving Penrhyn Jones, but in the North Walian's next over, the light further deteriorated and the players left the field for 20 minutes.
On the resumption, Wakely was soon into his stride as he on-drove Penrhyn Jones for four but the 21 year-old had the last laugh as in his next over, he found the edge of the Northants' captains bat with Chris Cooke completing a regulation catch as Glamorgan bagged their first bowling point with the home side on 81/3.
Keogh clipped Penrhyn Jones for fours to mid-wicket and mid-on, but Wagg then ended Josh Cobb's brief stay at the crease as he played onto his stumps. Keogh greeted the return of Craig Meschede into the attack by cover-driving him for four, before Adam Rossington opened his account with a pair of rasping straight drives. But Wagg's probing spell at the Lyn Wilson End gained further reward as - with the total on 103 - he found the outside edge of Keogh's bat with Cooke diving at full stretch to his right to complete a superb catch in front of first slip.
After Rossington had edged Meschede just in front of Michael Hogan at first slip, he drilled the on-loan seamer through the covers. In Wagg's next over he bisected first slip and keeper with the ball hurtling away to third man for four, whilst in Meschede's next over an edge from david Murphy also flew in the same direction. Rossington then edged another ball from Wagg over gully for four but the light which had started to deteriorate had become too gloomy for play to continue as the players left the field again with the home side on 128/5.
Tea was taken at 3.10pm but the light did not improve and prevented a resumption. With no improvements to the conditions play was called off at 4.45pm.
