Middlesex 171 for 6 (Stoneman 53) lead Glamorgan 122 (Roland-Jones 3-34, Shaheen 3-35) by 49 runs
Both seam attacks made the most of a pitch with some life in it as 16 wickets fell on the first day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match between Glamorgan and Middlesex in Cardiff.
Having won the toss, Middlesex put the hosts in to bat and had them bowled out after the lunch break for just 122. Shaheen Shah Afridi picked up three wickets on his Middlesex debut but it was Toby Roland-Jones who looked the most threatening throughout.
Middlesex finished the day on 171 for 6, 49 runs in front of Glamorgan. While the lead is not yet significant, given the speed with which wickets have fallen in this game, the visitors are very well placed to push for their first win of the season.
Middlesex could have had their first wicket from the third ball of the match, David Lloyd getting a big edge off Afridi that was put down at third slip. However, the visitors did not have to wait long for their first breakthrough, with Andrew Salter clipping a ball from Roland-Jones to mid-wicket for a nine-ball duck. Salter has now made 43 runs in five innings as Glamorgan's makeshift opener.
Take a look at how @iShaheenAfridi removed Marnus Labuschagne
— Middlesex Cricket (@Middlesex_CCC) April 21, 2022
Not a bad first @CountyChamp wicket, eh?#OneMiddlesex pic.twitter.com/Rpp0UXRx5r
The real prize came in the ninth over of Glamorgan's innings when Afridi dismissed the world's best Test batsman, Marnus Labuschagne, for just 8. The Australian attempted to leave a ball that got big on him and he edged it on to his stumps. When Sam Northeast was out the very next ball, caught at second slip, Glamorgan were 21 for 3 and in real trouble.
That became 24 for 4 in the following over when Kiran Carlson played a big drive at a ball from Roland-Jones that he inside edged to the wicket-keeper. The fifth wicket fell with the score on 30 when Chris Cooke called for a single that wasn't there and Sam Robson threw down the stumps with Lloyd well short of his ground.
The collapse continued into the second hour of the day with Callum Taylor and Michael Neser both departing in quick succession to leave Glamorgan 52 for 7.
A recovery of sorts followed with useful contributions from Cooke and James Harris taking Glamorgan passed the hundred mark.
Middlesex started brightly in their first innings with Robson making a sprightly 21 from 29 balls before he was trapped lbw by the impressive Harris, who was playing his first match against Middlesex since leaving them over the winter.
Mark Stoneman looked more comfortable than any other batter on this surface on his way to a well-made 52 before he edged behind off the bowling of Timm van der Gugten. While Stoneman stood firm, wickets tumbled at the other end as Harris held sway, finishing the day with figures of 3 for 48.
Glamorgan came right back into the match when five wickets fell for 42 runs with Middlesex going from 68 for 1 to 110 for 6 but the first partnership of over fifty for the match between John Simpson and Roland-Jones put their team in a strong position at the close.
