Brydon Carse scores career-best 91 as Durham continue to dominate at Glamorgan

Durham continued to dominate their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Glamorgan in Cardiff with a career-best score of 91 for Brydon Carse putting his team in position where a home win is all but impossible.

On a rain shortened day Glamorgan finished on 153 for five, still 318 runs behind Durham’s first innings total of 471 for nine declared.

Carse and Liam Trevaskis put on 128 runs – a seventh-wicket record stand for Durham against Glamorgan – before the visiting seamers took five wickets to put them in complete control.

Having lost all of day two to rain and another 38.4 overs on Saturday, it will be very difficult for Durham to force a result but they are the only side who can hope for a win from this game.

The away side started the day with their sights set on maximum batting points and it was Carse who led the charge on his way to his best first class score.

Trevaskis was happy to let his partner do the heavy lifting when it came to run scoring as Carse took on the Glamorgan bowlers.

When Carse fell, trapped lbw by Michael Neser, Durham had added 47 runs to their overnight score in just 9.5 overs.

The partnership between Carse and Trevaskis was the largest of the Durham innings and took them to their highest innings total of the season so far.

Marnus Labuschagne, bowling off spin for the first time in a professional cricket, secured career-best figures of four for 81.

He had Ben Raine caught in the covers from a loopy full toss and claimed the wicket of Trevaskis lbw as Durham looked to score as quickly as possible. When Trevaskis was dismissed for 79, the Durham declaration arrived.

New ball

The Durham seamers were an immediate threat with the new ball, with Raine, Carse and Paul Coughlin creating chances.

Coughlin dismissed Eddie Byrom first ball and David Lloyd fell to Raine for 31 on the stroke of lunch.

Resuming after the interval at 50 for two, Glamorgan were in need of runs from their strong middle order, that did not happen.

Labuschagne and Billy Root fell lbw to Raine and Carse bounced out Sam Northeast to reduce the home side to 72 for four, still 399 runs behind.

Kiran Carlson and Chris Cooke shared an unbroken stand worth 81 as batting started to look easier as the ball aged.

Carlson looked composed and – having made a century in Glamorgan’s opening fixture against Gloucestershire – he has some form behind him. A lot will be needed from him if the weather does stay away on Sunday as the hosts look to find a way out of a very tricky position.

It was an afternoon that was full of interruptions with the players going off for bad light for the third time before persistent rain arrived with the umpires calling off play for the day at 5:40pm.

There will be 96 overs available on Sunday for Durham to try and force an unlikely win, but with the weather forecast a mixed bag, it seems unlikely that all of that cricket will be possible.