Nottinghamshire First-Class debutant Matthew Montgomery led the way as the Green and Golds battled with bat in hand to leave their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Glamorgan poised at the halfway mark.

After Notts had resumed on their overnight 19 without loss in reply to the hosts’ 318 all out, Montgomery top-scored with 80, Haseeb Hameed made 70 and Lyndon James hit exactly 50 in a total of 285 all out.

Glamorgan then concluded the day on 53/0 in their second innings after batting through the final hour, giving them an overall lead of 86.

The second morning saw climes in Cardiff comparatively cooler than the first day, though the increased cloud cover took little away from Notts openers Hameed and Ben Slater, as the duo began with a confident fifty stand.

Hameed played a glorious drive to bring up the half-century partnership, and though James Harris bowled Slater for 31, that was to be the hosts’ only success in the morning session.

Now partnered by Montgomery, Hameed turned on the style to hit four further boundaries as he progressed to an individual fifty with a sweep off Andrew Salter, seeing the Notts total into three figures in the process.

Hameed and Montgomery posted another fifty partnership before lunch arrived with the total 130/1, of which the latter had 28*.

An identical fate to that of his opening partner befell Hameed in the first over after lunch, dismissed for 70, before Harris made it three in a row when Joe Clarke went for 14.

However, Montgomery remained watchful, and received his rewards for a strong innings when he sumptuously drove Michael Neser for four to post his fifty from 108 deliveries midway through the afternoon.

He was joined less than half an hour later by James, who was considerably more belligerent in striking two maximums amid a 69-ball fifty, taking Notts to 233/3 before falling to Michael Hogan before tea.

A short rain delay meant tea arrived fractionally earlier than planned, and a resurgent Glamorgan put Notts on the back foot in the evening session.

Harris and Hogan engineered a flurry of wickets, the Green and Golds slipping to 280/6 as Steven Mullaney and Joey Evison were unable to capitalise.

Liam Patterson-White fought alongside Montgomery with a pair of eye-catching shots, but when he fell to David Lloyd and the debutant’s knock was brought to an end by Neser, it was the hosts who had seized the momentum.

Montgomery raised his bat as he was applauded from the field by an appreciative crowd, before Hogan removed Luke Fletcher and last man Dane Paterson to conclude the Notts first innings and give his side a slender lead.

That left Glamorgan with 17 overs to see out, and though Fletcher, Paterson and Brett Hutton asked questions, the Welsh outfit reached the close unscathed through 21* from Lloyd, and 28* from Eddie Byrom.

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The Royal London Cup Final

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