Harris, Hamza share eight wickets to limit Sussex

Wickets came in clusters on the first day of the Vitality County Championship match between Glamorgan and Sussex in Cardiff with the visitors posting 278 in their first innings after a middle-order collapse left them in trouble.

Four wickets apiece from James Harris and Mir Hamza were the highlight for Glamorgan but Sussex did well to recover from 140 for 6 thanks to late-order runs from Jack Carson, Ari Karvelas and Jayden Seales.

Several Sussex players got starts but none went on to make a big score on a pitch where it seemed difficult to get fully settled, Fynn Hudson-Prentice producing the top-score with 48. In recent years this Cardiff square has flattened out as the match wears on, so those extra runs could prove vital.

Glamorgan faced six overs before the close of play and finished on 21 for 1 with Eddie Byrom falling lbw to Karvelas for 12.

Glamorgan's decision to bowl first on a beautifully sunny day in Cardiff was a matter of some debate before the game started, and a quick start from the Sussex opening pair of Tom Clark and Tom Haines only added to those questions. Haines had reached 19 from just 22 balls when he was trapped lbw by Hamza and that slowed things down.

Clark was dismissed playing a pull shot that took a top edge and was easily caught by Chris Cooke, the first of a number of wickets that suggested that there was a two-paced nature to this Sophia Gardens surface.

A stand of 50 between Tom Alsop and Cheteshwar Pujara steadied things after the loss of both openers but a flurry of wickets after the lunch break justified Glamorgan's decision at the toss. A brilliant 18-ball spell from Hamza saw him claim three wickets while conceding just four runs as Sussex went from 131 for 3 to 136 for 5.

One of those wickets was that of Pujara who was caught behind to a ball that Hamza got to seam away. Despite his sustained success in county cricket, Glamorgan were something of a bogey team for Pujara before this match. He had made just nine runs in four innings, his last outing against them resulting in an 11-ball duck. His average of 2.25 going into this game was the worst of his career against any first-class opposition. The 41 runs he made in this were well put together but he could not go on.

Harris claimed his third wicket when he had Danny Lamb caught at third slip by Andy Gorvin to leave the visitors 140 for 6. A 66-run partnership between Carson and Hudson-Prentice took Sussex past 200 but when Harris forced a second drag on to the stumps it saw the end of Hudson-Prentice.

Crane took the ninth wicket when he had Carson caught at slip by Colin Ingram for a well-made 39 before a last-wicket stand took Sussex past 250 for their first bonus point. Karvelas and Seales eventually put on 43, but they were aided by Glamorgan fielding. Karvelas was dropped on 18 and 32 and finished undefeated on 39.

The final wicket was claimed by Gorvin who was playing in his first game for Glamorgan this season on his 27th birthday. He bowled Seales for 17 as Sussex finished 278 all out.

The one Glamorgan wicket to fall before the close was Byrom who was trapped by a lovely ball from Karvelas which swung in to leave him leg before.