Van der Gugten, Harris Trigger Kent Collapse as Glamorgan Take Upper Hand in Cardiff

Glamorgan seized the momentum on a dramatic opening day against Kent in their County Championship clash at Sophia Gardens, thanks to a devastating six-for-seven collapse triggered by Timm van der Gugten and James Harris.

After choosing to field under overcast skies despite the use of the Kookaburra ball, Glamorgan bowled Kent out for just 155, with van der Gugten (3 for 27) and Harris (3 for 35) sharing the spoils. Despite a strong response from Kent’s Wes Agar (3 for 29), the hosts finished the day on 125 for 4, trailing by just 30 runs.

Daniel Bell-Drummond top-scored for Kent with a fluent 55 but saw his side disintegrate after lunch, slipping from a solid 148 for 3 to 155 all out. Joe Denly, who had looked composed during his innings, was forced to retire hurt with a muscle injury and could not return.

Kent started positively, with openers Ben Compton and Jadyn Denly striking early boundaries in a 37-run stand. But Asitha Fernando, returning for a second Glamorgan stint, claimed the vital wicket of Compton, the division’s leading run-scorer, caught behind for 21.

Despite Denly’s injury setback, Bell-Drummond looked in fine touch, striking four consecutive boundaries off Ned Leonard in one over and adding 61 for the third wicket with Chris Benjamin. But Kent's collapse began after Benjamin was trapped lbw by spinner Ben Kellaway.

From there, Glamorgan turned the screw. Joey Evison edged a wide delivery from van der Gugten, sparking a six-wicket slide. Bell-Drummond was trapped in front by a Harris in-swinger before van der Gugten took two wickets in two balls. Harris and Zain ul Hassan cleaned up the tail, leaving Kent’s lower order stunned and Stewart stranded, with Denly unable to return.

However, Glamorgan’s pursuit of a first-innings lead wasn’t straightforward. Agar’s fiery opening burst had Asa Tribe chopping on early before removing the aggressive Kiran Carlson and the returning Billy Root, who never found fluency in his first red-ball game of the season.

Zain ul Hassan showed patience in his 27 before falling to Evison, but a resilient, unbeaten stand of 47 between veteran Colin Ingram and youngster Ben Kellaway helped Glamorgan close the gap. Ingram, who was announced earlier in the day as joining the coaching setup, showed he still has plenty to offer with bat in hand, striking a four and a six off Evison and surviving a late drop on 27.

By stumps, Glamorgan had recovered to 125 for 4, trailing Kent by only 30 runs and holding the upper hand after an eventful day that saw 14 wickets fall.

Score at stumps, Day 1: Kent 155 (Bell-Drummond 55; van der Gugten 3-27, Harris 3-35)
Glamorgan 125 for 4 (Agar 3-29; Ingram 31*, Kellaway 22*) trail by 30 runs.