Leicestershire opened their season with a convincing 10 wicket victory at Sophia Gardens, inside three days.

Andy Gorvin ended Leicestershire first innings with two quick wickets in the space of three overs, which left the visitors leading Glamorgan by 198 runs with all results still possible, as Gorvin finsihed with figures of 4/41 and Asitha Fernando 4/71.

The hosts made the worst possible start to their second innings with ul Hassan, Byrom, Northeast, Ingram and Kellaway all back in the pavilion, with the score 46-5 after 25.2 overs. The visitors Ian Holland created more damage with the ball, and was ably supported by Somerset loanee Ben Green before a stand of 99 between Gorvin, who hit his maiden half century and a century from Kiran Carlson gave the home supporters hope of batting the day out and leaving the Grace Road outfit of a reasonable target to chase on Day 4.

However, once Carlson was caught by the sub fielder Liam Trevaskis at deep fine leg, Shoaib Bashir and Fernando didn’t offer any resistance to support Gorvin, who finished unbeaten on 50 as Glamorgan were all out for 248, leading by 51 runs.

With just 3 overs remaining in the day, and a possibly extra 30 mins to be taken, Leicestershire sent out Rehan Ahmed and Sol Budinger out to hunt down their small target as quickly as possible.

It only took an interested 6 overs to end this contest, as Ben Kellaway was removed from the home attack following two beamers above head height, before Budinger and Ahmed pummeled Sam Northeast’s friendly deliveries to all parts of the ground.

Leicestershire picked up 23 points from this contest and Glamorgan just the 2, with both sides over rates being positive or level respectively.

Next week, Glamorgan make the short trip to Bristol to face Gloucestershire in Round 2 while Leicestershire host Derbyshire at Grace Road.

Head Coach Richard Dawson, will be hoping Mason Crane, James Harris, Dan Douthwaite and Jamie McIlroy return to fitness quickly to bolster the match day squad, while supporters remain optimistic of youngsters Asa Tribe and Will Smale being given an opportunity to showcase their talents in red ball cricket.

Match Officials (Glamorgan v Leicestershire)

Umpires: T Lungley & M Newell

Scorers: AK Hignell & PJ Rogers

Match Referee: AM Smith

Lewis Hill led from the front for visitors Leicestershire on Day 2 at Sophia Gardens, with a stylish 96, to put the visitors into a strong 197 run lead over the hosts.

Hill was ably supported in the afternoon sunshine by the evergreen Chris Wright, Sol Budinger, Peter Hanscomb, Ben Cox and Ben Mike on a typical Cardiff pitch. Sri Lankan Asitha Fernando and Andy Gorvin bowled with accuracy in their short spells to bring Glamorgan back into the game, before an unbeaten 9th wicket stand of 102 between Cox and Wright put their side well in control of the contest.

Glamorgan will need to bat with control in their second innings when they finally get the opportunity to do so, to reduce the deficit over the upcoming three sessions on another day of blue skies and sunshine. Achieving a lead of 200 plus must be the focus for the hosts, which could set an interesting target for Leicestershire to chase on the final day. England spinner Shoain Bashir and youngster Ben Kellaway come well play a huge part in the result for Glamorgan, as the pitch starts to produce some turn.

An intriguing day in prospect on Sunday for all spectators and players, with all results possible.

Leicestershire ended the opening day of the Rothesay County Championship season in the driving seat in Cardiff, after dismissing hosts Glamorgan for 229 midway through the evening session.

Visiting captain Peter Hanscomb won the toss and elected to field in cloudy conditions, after a wet start in the Welsh capital.

Seamer Ian Holland made an early breakthough as Zain ul Hassan edged to Hanscomb at third slip, before Chris Cooke struck a beautiful half century to continue his fine record against the Foxes. Contributions from Eddie Byrom, Colin Ingram, Kiran Carlson and England spinner Shoaib Bashir dug the home side out of trouble, before Rehan Ahmed took his first scalp of the season to remove Bashir to end the home sides first innings.

Holland, now replacing the injured Rishi Patel, who suffered a dislocation to his thumb in the morning session, at the top of the Foxes order, went cheaply as he edged a brilliant Timm van der Gugten delivery to Cooke in the fifth over. Sol Budinger and Ben Mike then built a partnership to leave the visitors on 65/1 at the close, some 164 runs behind.

Glamorgan’s van der Gugten, Andy Gorvin, ul Hassan and Bashir all have a vital part to play on a deck suited to their bowling. Another exciting days play in prospect.

England spinner Shoaib Bashir and Sri Lankan quick Asitha Fernando are both poised to make their Glamorgan debuts in the season opener against Leicestershire in Cardiff.

Bashir has signed on a short team deal from Somerset as injury cover for Mason Crane, while Fernando is set to feature in the opening 7 rounds of the newly-named Rothesay County Championship. Both players are expected to make an immediate impact, as the Sophia Gardens based outfit look to challenge for promotion under new Head Coach, Richard Dawson.

Dawson has named a strong 13-player squad to face the visitors from Grace Road: Sam Northeast (#16 – Captain), Kiran Carlson (#5), Billy Root (#7), Ben Kellaway (#8), Andy Gorvin (#11), Ned Leonard (#22), Zain ul Hassan (#27), Shoaib Bashir (#29), Colin Ingram (#41), Chris Cooke (#46), Timm van der Gugten (#64), Aistha Fernando (#78), Eddie Byrom (#97).

The hosts will be looking to build on strong pre-season performances with the bat from Northeast, Carlson, Ingram and the talented youngster Kellaway in the recent fixture against Cardiff UCCE, when Kellaway shone for the visitors along with teammate Asa Tribe, who misses out on selection for the squad this week.

Leicestershire are led by the exceptional Australian Peter Handscomb, and have made some strong acquisitions over the winter with Dutchman Logan van Beek and Ben Green arriving to bolster their squad.

The pitch will as usual, play an important part in team selection, ahead of the toss at 10:30, and with the forecast set for dry and sunny conditions over the coming four days, this could well be a mouthwatering encounter that will excite the fans of both counties.