Durham 4 for 0 are in last place, 386 runs behind Glamorgan 390 (Carlson 162, Northeast 60, Miles 4-73, Raine 4-79).
In their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Durham at Seat Unique Riverside, Glamorgan posted 390 runs on day one thanks to Kiran Carlson’s outstanding century.
The Glamorgan captain built the foundation of the visitors’ score after choosing to bat by scoring his second and fourth tons of the season against the North-East team. Carlson was dropped on 67 and 107, and he suitably punished the hosts by scoring 162, which was aided by a quick 45 from Billy Root and a rapid 60 from Sam Northeast.
Durham struggled in Carlson’s onslaught during the afternoon session, but newcomers Craig Miles and Ben Raine led a late comeback with the new ball to stop Glamorgan from surpassing the 400-run threshold by combining for four wickets each. The visitors missed a good opportunity to knock the hosts out of the game when they went from 340 for four to 390 all out.
Both teams were missing its Ashes players; Glamorgan played without Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser, while the host team was without Matthew Potts. The visitors decided to bat despite fielding an untested opening combination in Zain ul-Hassan and Andrew Salter. Within the first hour, Salter and Ul-Hassan managed to fend off the initial new-ball burst and reach a partnership of fifty.
Miles, a rookie from Durham, however, broke through with a brute of a short ball before leaping to take a return catch to send Ul-Hassan on his way. After getting the visitors down to 81 for 3, Bas de Leede forced Colin Ingram and Salter out for a well-made 43, and Ollie Robinson collected two catches to give Durham the slight advantage in the morning session.
After lunch, Carlson made a resounding statement attacking the Durham bowlers. The Glamorgan captain quickly moved past fifty from 72 balls by smashing two sixes at Ajaz Patel and Miles.
In his first six overs, Stanley McAlindon cost fifty runs. He was given an early warning for a beamer and then battled with no balls, overstepping many times. When McAlindon missed a straightforward opportunity to dismiss Carlson for 67 at short mid-wicket, his dismal day took a turn for the worst that would dominate the remainder of the innings.
On the other end, Northeast was not nearly as fluid as Carlson, but he was still able to record his third season-high half-century. The innings’ foundation was laid by the two batters’ 168-run stand, which Miles interrupted with a stunning catch to dismiss Northeast for 60.
Carlson kept going and scored his fourth of the campaign and 11th first-class century, maintaining his 100% conversion rate in 2023. On 107, Miles put down a diving chance at gully, giving him yet another life. Root made rapid runs to keep the hosts under strain, but Raine’s first delivery with the new ball caused him to fall five runs short of a half-century.
By achieving his second straight score of above 150 in the Championship, Carlson continued to confound the hosts. The 25-year-old was finally removed to Miles for 162 but the home team came back in the last overs of the day as James Harris also fell in the same over.
When Raine dismissed Prem Sisodiya, the Glamorgan innings came to a close. This allowed the hosts to receive a third bowling bonus point and prevented the guests from surpassing 400 runs. McAlindon, who was assigned to the nightwatch post, finished the game during the day to leave Durham four for naught at the finish line, 386 behind.
