Rob Keogh’s 9 for 52 – one of the best performances in Northants history – and Ben Duckett’s 185 from 159 balls put Northamptonshire in complete control after day two against Glamorgan at Wantage Road
ECB Reporters Network01-Sep-2016
ScorecardRob Keogh will be signing more autographs after his eye-catching feat•Getty Images
Rob Keogh’s 9 for 52 and Ben Duckett’s 185 from 159 balls put Northamptonshire in complete control after day two against Glamorgan at Wantage Road. The home side declared their second innings 305 for 7 leaving Glamorgan 451 to win and they survived three overs to the close without score.The day turned remarkably after Rob Keogh’s morning spell – his 9 for 52 was the sixth-best return in Northamptonshire’s history – helped bowl Glamorgan out for just 124 in the morning session.”Three-for was my best before so it wasn’t expected but it’s spinning, we saw their young bowler spin a couple and we were saying if he can get wickets, we must have a chance too,” Keogh said. “It’s been coming out really nicely this year, I’ve been bowling pretty well but I haven’t had much luck but together it came together.”With the ball spitting out of rough outside the right handers’ off stump from the Wilson End, it appeared the game would move on very quickly after Glamorgan lasted only one session on the second day. But Duckett was seemingly playing on a different wicket as Northants looked to build on a first-innings lead of 145.He slapped seven fours and two sixes – the second a graceful lofted drive off Owen Morgan – to race to fifty in just 30 balls. His second fifty was more sedate but a glorious extra-cover drive off Michael Hogan and a steered pull against Tim van der Gugten, raised a century in 81 balls and then past a thousand Championship runs for the summer for the first time – the first Northants batsman to achieve the feat since Stephen Peters in 2010.Duckett went on to post his third best first-class score. Taking three consecutive boundaries from Graham Wagg – bowling his left-arm spin – with sweeps either side of deep midwicket. But trying to loft van der Gugten down the ground, he found Michael Hogan at mid-on. His season strike-rate (from all the cricket he has played) stands at 99.42It ended the second fabulous performance of the day after Keogh’s exploits in the first session. His return was the seventh instance of a nine-wicket innings haul for Northants and the best figures for the county against Glamorgan.Finding significant help outside the right-handers’ off stump from the Wilson End – from where Kiran Carlson took four of his 5 for 28 on day one – Keogh floated Glamorgan to destruction. Genuine dismissals were mixed in with poor strokes as the visitors found no way to overcome the off spinner.Keogh struck in the fourth over of the morning with Nick Selman sharply held at short leg by Saif Zaib. Will Bragg followed lbw to Keogh’s arm ball. David Lloyd tried to be positive and use his feet but found a sharply turning ball beat his off drive.Then followed two naive sweeps from out of the rough by Anuerin Donald and Carlson – both caught by Chad Barrett at backward square-leg. Graham Wagg advanced to both his deliveries – the second of which he wasn’t to the pitch off and gloved a catch to short leg.At that stage, Keogh had 6 for 25. But any dreams of just the second 10-wicket haul for Northamptonshire were dashed as Graeme White found turn into the left-handed Jacques Rudolph, whose composed innings of 37 came to an end with a catch at leg slip. But Keogh cleaned up the tail to complete a nine-for and put Northants firmly in control of the match.