County Championship: Lees 163 puts Durham on top against Glamorgan
- Published
Alex Lees opened the batting for England in March's three Tests in the West Indies
LV= County Championship Division Two, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (day three): |
Glamorgan 234: Ingram 87, C Cooke 59; Raine 3-35, Potts 3-67 |
Durham 348-3 (105 overs): Lees 163*, Bedingham 74*, Borthwick 64 |
Durham (6 pts) lead Glamorgan (2 pts) by 114 runs |
England opener Alex Lees put in an early bid to protect his Test position as he batted through the day for 163 not out against Glamorgan.
Lees hit 19 boundaries and faced 328 balls as Durham reached 348-3, 114 runs ahead.
He shared stands of 147 with Scott Borthwick (64) and 106 with David Bedingham (74 not out).
Durham will have to decide when to declare on the final day to try to force victory.
Lees showed the solidity that England are looking for as he ground down the Glamorgan bowling on a pitch that gave the bowlers little assistance.
He is just 18 runs short of his highest score for Durham of 181.
Michael Hogan had two impassioned lbw appeals turned down against Lees early on, with Timm van der Gugten (2-76) the most successful seamer and Andrew Salter claiming the only other wicket.
After hailstorms saw more than a day's play lost in the first two days, Durham made steady progress for most of the day, accelerating against the old ball and again in the final overs of a long day.
Bedingham provided the attacking momentum in the closing stages as the visitors turned the screw in a one-sided day's action in their bid to repeat 2021's convincing win over the Welsh county.
Glamorgan assistant coach David Harrison told BBC Sport Wales:
"It was a long day especially the last session of 42 overs, but I can't fault the way the guys bowled and the effort in the field was very good.
"You've got to give credit to Alex Lees and the Durham batsmen, it was the perfect innings from Alex as he negated us in the morning and went through the gears, he's a Test match player who played really well.
"I think the pitch has got a bit easier with the heavy roller on it and the sun out, so hopefully we can bat well and get some runs on the board."
Durham assistant coach Neil Killeen told BBC Radio Newcastle:
"A fantastic day, for the guys to bat for a full three session especially for Alex.
"We all know why he got that England call-up and to put an innings like that out, just cements how good a player he is.
"It's put us in a good position, that stand between Alex and Scott put us in good stead to go harder towards the end, and David's in good form again.
"We'll look to be positive, put on as many runs as we can in the morning and we'll back our bowlers to have a good crack at Glamorgan."