CARDIFF, Wales, CMC – West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite struck his 22nd first-class hundred to end a miserable run of form and put Glamorgan in a strong position to force a result on the final day of their Division Two, County Championship contest against Leicestershire.
Playing at Sophia Gardens on yesterday’s penultimate day, the 26-year-old carved out an unbeaten 103 as the hosts declared their second innings on 251 for five, leaving Leicestershire with a difficult target of 424 for victory.
At the close, the visitors were tottering on 32 for two after new-ball seamer Lukas Carey (2-10) prised out captain Paul Horton (7) and Colin Ackermann (1) cheaply.
Leicestershire had earlier used a last-wicket stand of 92 between Chris Wright (60) and Will Davis (39 not out) to rally from their overnight 191 for nine to 263 all out in their first innings.
Wright, resuming on 26, struck 10 fours and a six off 86 deliveries before he was last out, stumped off former England left-arm spinner Samit Patel who finished with four for 58.
Brathwaite then anchored the Glamorgan innings in a knock that required 189 balls and which lasted just shy of four hours and included 12 fours and a six.
The knock followed his marathon 44 in Glamorgan’s first innings of 435, when he batted nearly 3-¾ hours and faced 156 deliveries.
More importantly, Brathwaite ended a rut which saw him average a miserly 12.58 in his last nine Tests over the last 12 months. In the recent two-Test series against India, the right-hander managed 28 runs from four innings.
Yesterday, Brathwaite posted 65 for the third wicket with Patel (25), 39 for the fourth wicket with Billy Root (19) before adding a further 80 for the fifth wicket with captain Chris Cooke whose 43 came from 39 balls with four fours.
Unbeaten on 68 at tea with the hosts on 171 for four, Brathwaite brought up his first hundred for his new county in the final session when he stroked veteran seamer Wright to the cover boundary, prompting the declaration.
