COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION TWO, St Helen's, Swansea:
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY ONE: Glamorgan 217-8 (Middlesex 2pts, Glamorgan 1pt)
20-23 August 2009

Finn is closing in on 50 Championship wickets this season

Steven Finn took 3-51 as Middlesex's bowlers seized the initiative on day one of their clash with Glamorgan.

On a day when 15 overs at Swansea were lost to rain, Middlesex made regular inroads into the Glamorgan batting line-up as the hosts closed on 217-8.

Gareth Rees and Jamie Dalrymple both hit 40 for Glamorgan, but too few of their team-mates offered any resistance as they crawled to one batting point.

As well as Finn's haul, Shaun Udal and Murali Kartik both took two wickets.

After winning the toss and electing to bat Glamorgan needed a good performance to keep up their faint hopes of promotion.

But once Gareth Berg made the initial breakthrough by having Will Bragg caught by Owais Shah at third slip to leave Glamorgan 34-1, Middlesex gained the upper hand.

Udal claimed the prize wicket of Herschelle Gibbs in his first over, before ending a third wicket stand of 64 between Rees and Michael Powell by having Powell caught at short leg.

What was 109-3 became 113-4 when Finn had Rees caught behind, before having Jim Allenby caught at third slip on his Championship debut for Glamorgan.

Two overs later Finn struck again when Mark Wallace top edged an attempted pull and was caught at gully to leave the home side 139-6.

Kartik picked up the wickets of James Harris before tea and Dalrymple after the interval as Glamorgan limped to 194-8 when rain stopped play.

A futher short period was possible before rain forced an early close, with Robert Croft and Adam Shantry seeing the home side to stumps without further loss.

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