Glamorgan force Middlesex to follow on as Gorvin leads home pressure

Rothesay County Championship Division Two, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (day two)

Glamorgan 383 (115.4 overs): Northeast 122, Carlson 109; Higgins 5-59, Roland-Jones 4-95

Middlesex 155 (52 overs): Holden 42; Gorvin 4-39

Glamorgan 6 pts, Middlesex 2 pts

Match scorecard

Glamorgan's bowlers had Middlesex under the pump as they struggled to 155 all out in reply to the hosts' 383.

Middlesex will follow on 228 behind on day three, although the weather forecast for the final day is poor.

It was a team performance from the hosts with the ball, led by Andy Gorvin's 4-39, backed up by smart catching including a superb Tom Bevan effort.

Max Holden's 42 was the top score as the visitors, needing 234 to avoid the possibility of following on, lost wickets at regular intervals.

Ryan Higgins completed his first Middlesex five-for under cloudy skies in the morning but Glamorgan still edged the bonus points battle on the home innings.

Resuming on 334-7 under thick cloud, Glamorgan managed a third batting point as Andy Gorvin ran three boundaries down to third man before being bowled by Ryan Higgins for 17.

Middlesex missed out on the third bowling point but Dane Paterson switched ends to trap Chris Cooke lbw for a solid 47, and Higgins claimed his fifth when James Harris was lbw for 12.

Sam Robson fell for six, caught at slip off Timm van der Gugten in the tricky pre-lunch session and Middlesex's fortunes were not helped by a 90-minute rain delay after the lunch interval.

Luke Hollman was bowled for 11, driving loosely at James Harris, but Max Holden looked in decent nick, driving fluently on a pitch where seam-friendly conditions were against it.

Holden gave it away on 42, edging a Gorvin delivery to Kiran Carlson at slip which he did not need to play, and bowling hero Higgins was pinned lbw first ball.

Australian left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann, making a one-off appearance, tempted Leus du Plooy (17) into trying to hit him straight into the Taff, with the ball skying to cover where Tom Bevan took a well-judged catch.

Glamorgan continued to chip away as Ben Geddes, who had defended well, survived a slip chance off Timm van der Gugten before slashing James Harris hard to Carlson on 18.

Davies played three nice square drives off Kuhnemann before falling on 22 to a brilliant catch by Bevan as he tried to smash Zain Ul Hassan through mid-wicket, and the follow-on figure of 234 looked a distance away at 121-7 with the light unexpectedly holding up.

Gorvin induced Toby Roland-Jones to drive hard to Asa Tribe at cover, Naavya Sharma hit three fours before edging Gorvin to Carlson for his third catch, and a brief counter-attack from Zafar Gohar for 25 was finished when he provided Marnus Labuschagne with a slip catch.

Four overs should have been left to bowl, but another brief rain flurry saw Glamorgan denied the chance to cause further damage.

Glamorgan's Matt Kuhneman told BBC Sport Wales:

"It was a great day for the boys, the fast bowlers bowled exceptionally well backed up with some brilliant fielding as well.

"The way the boys bowled in partnerships through the day was the key, it's set up nicely for a big couple of days. I got a lucky one, it was a nice catch so I'm pretty happy to get my first wicket for Glamorgan.

"I love county cricket, this is my second stint over here and I like to play all year round. It works out well with a couple of Test matches coming up, the World Test Championship here (at Lord's) then the West Indies tour.

"I was already coming over so it's worked out well that I got the opportunity to play with these boys. I've loved my time in Cardiff so far, it's a beautiful city. It was all (down to) Marnus, he loves this club so much.

"It's very unlikely I'll play in the World Test final with Nathan Lyon there, so just more experience playing here is a bonus. I love county cricket with heaps of games and the divisions are interesting, so whenever I get the opportunity to come over I jump at it."

Middlesex's Max Holden said:

"The amount we beat the bat on day one, we knew it was going to be challenging, we hoped it would go better for us batters but the guys applied themselves as well as they could.

"It's a big day tomorrow, The ball was moving around, we knew we had to be on our A game and we weren't quite at our best.

"Hopefully we can get our heads down and put things right. I've felt in good touch this summer, but I'm well aware it's one innings at a time and hopefully a big one now."