CARDIFF, Wales, CMC – Leg-spinner Odean Brown’s five-wicket haul restricted Glamorgan to a modest total but the loss of two quick wickets in the late exchanges left West Indies A in strife on the opening day of their three-day first class match yesterday.
The 28-year-old Brown snapped up five for 92 to send Glamorgan tumbling to 261 all out after they won the toss and chose to bat at the SWALEC Stadium.
David Brown, on first class debut, scored 99 while opener Gareth Rees stroked 55.
Any hopes of building on this advantage were dashed, however, as sharp 21-year-old fast bowler Will Owen knocked over captain Devon Smith without scoring and then sent back other opener Justin Guillen for three, as West Indies A crashed to 11 for two at the close.
Smith was bowled by a peach off just the second ball of the innings without a run on the board while Guillen edged the fourth ball of Owen’s next over to captain Tom Maynard at second slip at five for two in the third over.
It was left for Omar Phillips (6), who played two Tests last year against Bangladesh, and Andre Fletcher (1) to see Windies A safely to the close without further loss.
Odean Brown had earlier starred for the Caribbean side, running amok in Glamorgan’s middle order after pacers Gavin Tonge (3-53) and Lionel Baker (2-49) had handed Windies A a fantastic start.
In a testing opening spell from the Cathedral Road End, Baker struck with just the 10th ball of the day when he bowled Will Bragg without scoring with just four on the board and he sent back Maynard in similar fashion, also without scoring, in his next over to leave the hosts on eight for two.
Tonge, operating from the River End, prised out Ben Wright (17) at 31 for three before Rees and Mike Powell rescued Glamorgan with a stand of 53 for the fourth wicket.
Rees scored 55 with 10 fours from 102 balls in 135 minutes at the crease while Powell’s 25 came from 54 balls and included five boundaries.
Brown broke the partnership in the final over before lunch when he had Powell caught at the wicket by Chadwick Walton at 84 for four.
That dismissal sparked a slide which saw five wickets tumble for 52 runs as Brown weaved his magic around the Glamorgan batsmen.
He yorked Rees as the batsman advanced down the track and then had debutant Nick James taken at mid-on by Baker at 122 for six. Two more wickets fell in quick succession as Robert Croft (4) was taken at second slip by Fletcher to give Tonge his second wicket while Owen was bowled for nought, offering no stroke to Brown.
Staring down the barrel at 137 for eight, Glamorgan got a wonderful rearguard response from David Brown who slammed seven fours and six sixes in scoring 99 from 140 balls in three hours and 10 minutes at the crease.
It was his 98-run, ninth wicket partnership with Adam Shantry (25) that frustrated the Windies A bowlers and hauled the hosts out of trouble.
Playing with gay abandon, Brown took the attack to the Windies A bowlers. He took a particular liking to leg-spinner Imran Khan who he smashed for sixes over long-on and into the River Stand.
He was mis-stumped on 91 off his namesake Brown but then cruised to the brink of a century with a straight six off the same bowler. With three figures in sight, he perished in the same vein he had played, holing out to Khan at mid-off to give Brown his fifth wicket.
