Glam up to second

Spinners Dean Cosker and Robert Croft shared the four remaining Middlesex second-innings wickets between them after an initial blast of seam in the first hour had failed to separate John Simpson and Toby Roland-Jones.

Resuming on 293 for six, still needing 79 runs to avoid an innings defeat, Simpson and Roland-Jones batted in determined fashion to take their seventh-wicket stand to 59.

Roland-Jones, however, after lasting 53 balls and 70 minutes in all for his stubborn 26, was beaten by an arm ball from slow left-arm spinner Cosker and adjudged lbw.

Gareth Berg stayed 46 minutes, helping Simpson at least to make sure Glamorgan would have to bat again, before he missed an attempted flick to mid-wicket and was lbw to Robert Croft for 14.

Off-spinner Croft also struck the next blow, trapping Tim Murtagh lbw with the second ball after lunch, and the Middlesex second innings was finally wrapped up for 398 when Cosker, who ended with three for 80 from 40.3 overs, had last man Corey Collymore caught at mid on.

Simpson remained 64 not out, and overall it was a fine rearguard action by Middlesex, led on the third day by centuries from both Andrew Strauss and Chris Rogers.

Yet their poor first-innings effort, when they were bowled out for just 150, condemned them to this damaging defeat, their first of the season and against one of their likely rivals for promotion to Division One, and they took only one bonus point from the game.

Glamorgan, who take a maximum 24 points for the second successive match, following last week’s victory over Kent, have won three of their six games and are now just four points behind division pace-setters Northamptonshire at the top of the table.

Gareth Rees fell for a fourth ball duck to Collymore, when Glamorgan set of needing just 27 to win, but Alviro Petersen struck four boundaries in his 11-ball 23 not out, and the small target was reached in just 4.3 overs.