County Championship: Batters on top in Glos-Glamorgan day two

Billy Root has scored 254 runs for once out against Gloucestershire in 2023

Batters from both sides dominated the second day of the Cheltenham Festival as Glamorgan ran up 450-6 declared before Gloucestershire reached 134-1.

A trip of aggressive innings from Kiran Carlson (76), Billy Root (98) and Chris Cooke (86 not out) earned Glamorgan five batting points.

They declared straightaway with an eye on the poor weather forecast.

But Gloucestershire, led by Chris Dent (61*), had little trouble in building a solid reply at Cheltenham College.

With Glamorgan resuming overnight on 152-2, Gloucestershire quickly made progress with the ball.

Paul Van Meekeren, playing his first Championship match for the county, had Colin Ingram caught at slip for 17 in the first over of the day, then bowled Sam Northeast off his pads for 28.

But Glamorgan were quickly on the charge as Carlson came out in his usual attacking style, leading the way in a century stand with Root off just 101 balls.

• Gloucestershire v Glamorgan: Day One

Carlson was dropped by Van Meekeren off Josh Shaw on 49, and the Dutchman then tested him with a series of short-pitched balls in a red-blooded battle.

Carlson took on most of them effectively before eventually being caught at square-leg after hitting 12 fours in the 70 deliveries he faced.

But Root and Cooke made rapid progress in an afternoon stand of 117 for the sixth wicket at nearly five an over, providing plenty of entertainment for the large contingent of Welsh followers and driving the home side onto the defensive.

Root hit 14 fours and a six, looking particularly strong square on the off-side, before falling two short of his second century of the season against Gloucestershire as he edged Zafar Gohar to slip.

Cooke hit one huge blow high up the college building at mid-wicket off Zafar in addition to his 15 fours, and the home fielders were mostly on the ropes by the time Glamorgan pulled the plug immediately on reaching maximum batting points.

Gloucestershire faced scoreboard pressure and lost Ben Charlesworth, bowled by Mitch Swepson for 15, as the leg-spinner found some sharp turn.

But the wicket gave little help to the bowlers in the evening sunshine as Oli Price dug in alongside the experienced Dent, although Andy Gorvin started with four maiden overs as the tempo dropped.

Dent reached a patient half-century off 113 balls, while Price is one short overnight in a chanceless stand, as they took the immediate pressure off the home side with play likely to be limited on day three.

Glamorgan batter Billy Root told BBC Sport Wales:

"I felt pretty good for 98 runs. Once you're in, it's a fast scoring ground and you get value for shots and the lads played well.

"450 and the batting points was what we wanted, and that's what we got. We're chasing points at this time of the year, as everyone is, so the plan was to be proactive and it's a ground where you can score quickly.

"Gloucestershire batted well, but we kept the scoreboard as dry as we can so if we get wickets early, we're in with a good chance. But there's nothing we can do about the weather."

Gloucestershire bowler Paul van Meekeren told BBC Radio Bristol:

"We're in a position where we can hopefully get a result though the (bad) weather's around.

"At least we've got 130 on the board with one down. Maybe we can pull out and set up some kind of chase on the last day, or just try to get as many batting points as we can.

"They've kept it quite tight (bowling), where we leaked a few too many runs today but we've got a young attack.

"I've played a few second-team (four-day) games, but it's still a tough grind bowling 21 overs. I'm just excited to play for Gloucestershire in first-class cricket. The opportunity has come with a few injuries and hopefully I can make an impression."