Sonny Baker Shines as Hampshire Fights Back in Cardiff
Sonny Baker’s late dash from Lord’s lit up a murky day in Cardiff, as bottom-of-the-table Hampshire clawed their way on top of a bowler’s game at Sophia Gardens.
On a humid, restless first day of the Rothesay County Championship clash, 17 wickets fell, the ball ruled the bat, and a Test squad “supersub” changed the mood of the match in a single over.
Bowlers’ day from the first ball
Hampshire’s 162 all out in 40.2 overs looked flimsy on paper. Out in the middle, it felt like a score you could work with.
Cloud, moisture, and a tacky surface gave Glamorgan’s seamers everything they wanted. Zain Ul Hassan and Mir Hamza, both nagging and relentless, shared six wickets and rarely let Hampshire breathe. Timm van der Gugten set the tone, Nick Gubbins edging to slip early before bad light briefly intervened.
Toby Albert dug in for 10 before Ul Hassan burst through his off stump. Ali Orr counter-punched, Lehmann settled, and for a short while Hampshire hinted at something substantial. Orr’s 35 came with intent, but Ul Hassan trapped him lbw and the innings never really recovered.
Jake Lehmann stood alone. His unbeaten 51 was a study in survival and timing, one of only two scores in double figures. He watched partners disappear in a steady procession while Hamza and Van der Gugten probed on a length and Dan Douthwaite, back in red-ball cricket for the first time in two years, chipped in with two wickets despite going around the park at times.
Kyle Abbott swung hard for 16, the only other resistance of note. When Hampshire were bowled out for 162, Glamorgan’s seamers walked off with the ball talking in their hands and the scoreboard firmly in their favour.
That didn’t last long.
Abbott and Jack flip the script
If Hampshire’s total looked light, Eddie Jack and Abbott made it feel almost imposing.
Jack’s first over was brutal. Extra pace, steep bounce, and ruthless precision. Asa Tribe and Kiran Carlson both fell for ducks, smartly taken at third slip by Lehmann, who suddenly found himself in the game in the cordon as much as with the bat.
Ul Hassan then became the third duck in a row, pinned lbw by Abbott. Glamorgan, 2-3, were staring down a collapse of their own making.
Colin Ingram and Ben Kellaway hauled them back. Ingram, all experience and calm, and Kellaway, now promoted to number four this season, stitched together a partnership that changed the mood. Their stand of 65 for the fourth wicket was the biggest of the day and, briefly, the most assured.
Abbott, though, wasn’t finished. Returning for a second spell, he trapped Ingram lbw for 32 and then went straight through Sean Dickson. Every time Glamorgan thought they had a foothold, Abbott kicked it away.
Kellaway refused to yield. He drove, cut and clipped his way to 57, the day’s top score, with eight crisp boundaries. On a surface that made most batters look half a shot behind the ball, he looked a class apart.
At 97-5, with Kellaway set and Glamorgan edging towards parity, the game felt delicately balanced.
Then Baker arrived.
Baker’s thunderbolt over
Released from England duty at Lord’s and drafted in as Hampshire’s supersub, Sonny Baker had been limbering up on the boundary for what felt like an age. When he finally took the ball, he needed just three deliveries to rip the contest open.
His first over was electric. Chris Cooke was struck on the pad first ball, beaten outside off by the second, then had his stumps shattered by the third. Pace, nip, and a stump-splitting finish that sent Hampshire’s fielders roaring.
Baker wasn’t done. His sixth ball of the spell claimed the key wicket. Kellaway, Glamorgan’s anchor and the only batter who had truly mastered the conditions, edged behind. From 97-5, Glamorgan slumped to 111-7, the air sucked out of their reply.
Bad light, which had threatened all day despite a kinder-than-expected forecast, finally closed in with 15 overs left unbowled. Glamorgan were still 51 behind with just three wickets in hand, Hampshire scenting a rare first-innings lead in a season where little has gone their way.
On a day shaped by clouds, swing and seam, it was the late burst from a fast bowler fresh from the Test environment that left the clearest mark. If Hampshire are to turn a grim campaign around, this is the kind of day they have to turn into a result.
