Glamorgan v Northamptonshire: Promotion-chasing visitors cruise to win

Northamptonshire kept their County Championship promotion hopes alive with victory in Cardiff

Northamptonshire cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Glamorgan in Cardiff to keep up their Division Two promotion challenge.

Nightwatchman Simon Kerrigan (62) and opener Rob Newton (53) made sure there were no alarms for the visitors, who reached 221-3.

It was the seventh Championship win of 2017 for Northants, who stay third with rivals Worcestershire also winning.

Glamorgan suffered their seventh loss of the season's four-day campaign.

Glamorgan could not exert any early pressure as Newton and Kerrigan took their stand to 90, with Newton getting his second fifty of the match and Kerrigan equalling his first-class best.

Craig Meschede and Michael Hogan claimed a wicket apiece, but Alex Wakely and the aggressive Richard Levi (both 39 not out) saw Northants home, despite a rain break when they were nine runs short.

Northants host fellow promotion contenders Nottinghamshire in the penultimate round of matches, while Glamorgan face Gloucestershire.

Northants head coach David Ripley told BBC Radio Northampton:

"It is win or bust (against Notts), we played all right (in the defeat at Trent Bridge) but we weren't at our best, and since then we've played very well in two matches, while they have one or two players missing.

"But from sitting in almost a bullet-proof position, with Worcestershire and ourselves winning, it's made it a bit twitchy for them and we'll continue to try to make it twitchy.

"We'll have a light practice on Monday and then save everything to put in against Notts with a lot to play for, we wanted to have big games at the end of the season and so far we've managed to achieve that."

Glamorgan captain Michael Hogan told BBC Sport Wales:

"We felt like we didn't have the penetration we needed to take those wickets early. We were always chasing the game, we didn't bat or bowl well enough in their first innings, we needed things to go our way (on the final day) and they played the situation perfectly.

"It shouldn't be too difficult (to keep standards up in the closing matches) because there are a few blokes playing for their positions and their livelihoods coming into next year.

"There'll be more players getting an opportunity in the next few games and another chance to stake their claims for the future."