Centuries from Riki Wessels and Jake Libby helped Nottinghamshire take the initiative on the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Glamorgan at Cardiff.

Wessels followed the unbeaten 202 he scored against Sussex with a punishing innings of 120 and Libby made 109 as Notts closed on 335 for six.

The pair added 123 together for the fifth wicket, with Wessels scoring his runs from 136 balls with 17 fours and a six.

Libby, who reached three figures for the fourth time in his career, hit 10 fours in his 229-ball marathon and was understandably delighted at the close.

“I think we were a bit unsure what to do at the toss,” he said. “It was really tough early on; I thought they bowled really well at us in that first session but we got through that and it paid off in the end.

“I really had to graft and it’s an innings I’m very pleased about.”

Notts had been held to just 155 by the tea interval but a flurry of boundaries arrived at the start of the final session.

“I do like batting with the more attacking batsmen,” continued Libby. “And they probably don’t come more attacking than Riki. He’s in a great run of form and he’s a great player to bat with. He keeps the scoreboard going and it took a lot of pressure off my end.

“We got a few loose balls after tea and we tried to put them away and put the pressure on them. The game had gone in spurts throughout the day and we were always looking for momentum and it came after that.

"It’s been a very good first day for us, we’d definitely have taken that score at the end of the day and it puts us in good stead for the rest of the fixture.”

The Nottinghamshire side showed four changes from the one that defeated Sussex in the last championship match, a month ago.

Cheteshwar Pujara came in for his debut, Steven Mullaney was available for the first time in red ball cricket this season and both Harry Gurney and Brett Hutton returned.

The morning session turned into a battle of wills, with the batsmen not getting full reward for their efforts as the slow, slightly damp, outfield repeatedly pulled the ball up.

Mullaney broke the shackles briefly, pulling Timm van der Gugten over the ropes but that was the last scoring shot for over six overs as Glamorgan sent down a succession of maidens.

Van der Gugten exacted some revenge by grabbing the breakthrough after an hour of play. Mullaney, on 14, chased and nicked a wide one and was well held by wicketkeeper Chris Cooke.

Pujara batted for over half an hour but only made two in his first innings for the county before being seen off by an athletic catch at third slip by Aneurin Donald off Marchant de Lange.

Libby battled his way through the first session reaching lunch on 41 not out, with Notts on 64 for two, made from 31 overs.

Samit Patel had been unbeaten on 5 at the break and he didn’t add to that, falling lbw to van der Gugten at the start of the afternoon.

It could have been worse for Notts, with Michael Lumb nicking behind before he’d scored - and appearing to set off for the pavilion – before wicketkeeper Cooke quickly confirmed that the ball hadn’t carried.

The left-hander looked to make the most of his reprieve but on 23 he edged Lukas Carey and this time the ball certainly made it all the way into Cooke’s gloves.

Meanwhile, Libby had reached his fifty from 115 balls, getting there with his fourth boundary. The right-handed opener had looked to blunt the Glamorgan attack at every opportunity but picked up the pace, alongside Wessels, as the second session drew to a close.

Runs came quickly after tea, with both batsmen repeatedly finding the ropes as David Lloyd bowled three overs for 26. Momentum achieved, Glamorgan came under real pressure as Wessels advanced to his 50 from 79 balls with nine fours.

Libby brought up his hundred shortly afterwards, getting there from 215 balls with nine fours.

A superb diving catch from Cooke, his third of the day, finally accounted for the young Cornishman and then bowler van der Gugten (four for 52) had Wessels pinned lbw.

Captain Read remains undefeated on 47, alongside Brett Hutton, with full batting bonus points very much the target for the second morning.