David Lloyd’s career-best 121 spearheaded Glamorgan’s impressive 379 for 4 as the Welsh county got on top on the first day of their LV= Insurance County Championship second division match against Surrey at the Kia Oval.
Two wickets in quick succession after tea, including that of opener Lloyd, gave Surrey renewed heart during a gruelling day in warm sunshine but Kiran Carlson and Chris Cooke, unbeaten with 45 and 44 respectively, steered Glamorgan into a position of real strength on an easy-paced pitch with an unbroken alliance of 90 in 20 overs.
Joe Cooke also made his highest first-class score in a second wicket stand of 125 in 37 overs with Lloyd, the 24-year old left-hander’s gritty 68 a maiden half-century in his 14th appearance.
That partnership was only broken 15 minutes before tea, after Lloyd and former New Zealand Test opener Hamish Rutherford had added 86 for the first wicket, and Eddie Byrom then arrived to contribute a punchy 57-ball 45, with eight fours, as he and Lloyd put on a further 76.
But both Byrom and Lloyd fell in the space of five balls, in the 76th and 77th overs, as they attempted to increase the pace in the final session, but Carlson and Cooke – who both hit six fours – snuffed out Surrey hopes of a late rally with the second new ball.
Surrey, captained for the first time by 23-year-old England batsman Ollie Pope, did not start well with the ball but Rutherford and Lloyd also put pressure on the home seamers with their positive intent, the openers both taking fours off Jordan Clark in the fourth over and Glamorgan’s 50 coming up in only the 11th over.
Lloyd, however, having hit Dan Moriarty for a straight six, was dropped on 33 by Amar Virdi at long leg, after top-edging a hook at Rikki Clarke – the veteran all-rounder playing in his final match before retirement.
Moriarty’s slow left arm had been introduced as early as the 12th over and off spinner Virdi was also in action by the 21st over. Virdi, indeed, provided Surrey with a much-needed breakthrough in his second over when an arm ball beat left-hander Rutherford’s forward push to have him leg-before for 36.
There were also two overs of off breaks from Will Jacks as Pope used six bowlers before lunch but Surrey had no further joy until Cooke lifted a loose checked drive at Moriarty straight to mid off. He had hit 11 fours and resisted for 144 balls after an afternoon of accumulation.
Left-hander Byrom, signed recently from Somerset on a two-year contract, took successive fours off Moriarty and leg-glanced Jacks for another boundary as he began brightly and then, after tea, becoming the main aggressor as Lloyd, 29, completed his fifth first-class hundred.
At 287 for two, Glamorgan were seemingly in total control but Byrom then charged down the pitch to Moriarity to be stumped by Ben Foakes – playing his first senior game since late May after recovering from a bad hamstring injury.
Lloyd also had a rush of blood, trying to hoick Virdi over mid wicket from down the pitch and instead lobbing a catch to cover off a leading edge after facing 180 balls across almost five hours and hitting a six and 13 fours.
Surrey finished the day with their two wicket-takers Moriarty and Virdi in tandem again but Carlson and Cooke stood firm.
