County Championship: 19 wickets fall on day one of Glamorgan v Lancs

Michael Hogan recently agreed a new one-year contract with Glamorgan.

Nineteen wickets fell on day one between Glamorgan and Lancashire as fans returned to Sophia Gardens for the first time since September 2019.

The first day of the fixture was used as a Welsh Government pilot event for spectators.

They witnessed a fine all-round bowling performance from Glamorgan which included Michael Hogan's 400th first-class wicket for the county.

Marnus Labuschagne top scored with 44 as Lancashire's bowlers fought back.

The game is firmly in the balance, with Glamorgan trailing by just 23 runs but with only one wicket left.

Captain Chris Cooke won the toss under cloudy skies in the morning and the ever-reliable Hogan immediately justified his decision by removing former England opener Keaton Jennings for just 3.

Lancashire are top of Group Three going into this game but only Alex Davies (21) of their in-form top order made it past 20.

Some useful lower-order runs from Tom Bailey (31) and Luke Wood (28) meant they scrambled their way to 173 all out.

The wickets were shared around with Michael Neser taking 3-46 and two apiece for Hogan, Weighell and Douthwaite.

The sun made an appearance in the afternoon and Glamorgan's openers made batting look a lot easier, adding 39 for the first wicket - the highest partnership of the game so far.

Lancashire's bowlers responded strongly with their wickets also shared around, with England prospect Saqib Mahmood taking 3-34.

Labuschagne looked in excellent form for his 44 - the same amount of runs that he's made in his previous six innings combined.

Neser (17 not out) and Hogan, yet to score, saw Glamorgan through to the close, in what looks to be another low-scoring affair in Cardiff.

Glamorgan bowler Michael Hogan told BBC Sport Wales:

"It's a nice accomplishment to reach 400 wickets though I'm not really one for stats, but it's good to help bowl a team out.

"Exciting times with the new contract though there's still plenty of work to do this year, I'm looking forward to playing on.

"There were a number of reasons for 19 wickets falling, some good bowling, shot selection was a bit of an issue at times and the odd ball nips around a bit, but it's a nice wicket so 19 in a day is interesting.

"It was nice to hear some applause for boundaries and wickets and see a few old faces you haven't seen, so long may it continue and hopefully we can get a few more supporters in soon."

Lancashire seamer Tom Bailey told BBC Radio Wales:

"We knew it was going to be a tricky pitch and we would have liked to bowl first as well, but it was a strange day.

"Sometimes it seemed like a flat wicket and other times it was great to bowl on.

"It wasn't a great start with the ball but the boys came back really well. We've bowled well as a unit all season and I think that's partly why we're top of the group.

A small first innings lead could be massive for us, any partnership is important in a game like this. We still have a big job to do taking the tenth wicket tomorrow and hopefully we can get in a good position second innings."