Glos recover to shade Day one

DAY 1 Close: Gloucestershire 303-5 v Glamorgan (PTS: Glos 3 Glam 1)
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The first day at Cardiff produced a very exciting day's cricket. The Gloucestershire batting went from the ridiculous to the sublime and almost back again but shaded the day after winning the toss.

Once again the top order failed. More disappointing, Chris Dent fell to a poor stroke against seam bowling. He, like Hamish Marshall shortly after him, fell over an inswinging delivery and was plumb in front leg before.

Jon Batty had been the first man to go, the first of four lbw's on the card. Huw Waters - who went off ill half-way through the afternoon - produced a leg-cutter that Batty was only half-forward to. He went for six as the top three only contributed 13 runs.

Yet once again, once a testing first-hour - even with the warmer 12pm start-time - had been negotiated, batting became remarkably straight-forward. Alex Gidman - who stood his ground when Jim Allenby claimed a bump-ball at first-slip when on 10 - and James Franklin were at their fluent best in a fourth-wicket stand of 155.

But Gidman played across the line to the part-time seam of Allenby and became the fourth lbw of the day. Gidman again the architect of his own downfall and twice in consecutive innings fell agonisingly short of a century.

Franklin followed suit and produced the thinnest of edges to Mark Wallace from a Dean Cosker slider; he went for 95.

This Gloucestershire batting line up is learning how to consolidate though and runs for Chris Taylor and Steve Snell contributed 79 for the sixth wicket. From 27-3 the visitors will be pleased at the close.

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Official report: www.gloscricket.co.uk