Wickets fell thick and fast on the opening day of the Vitality County Championship match between Glamorgan and Sussex in Cardiff, with the visitors posting 278 in their first innings after a middle-order collapse left them in trouble.
Four wickets apiece from James Harris and Mir Hamza were the highlight for Glamorgan but Sussex recovered well from 140 for 6 thanks to late runs from Jack Carson, Ari Karvelas and Jayden Seales.
A number of Sussex players got starts but none made a big score on a pitch that seemed difficult to settle, with Fynn Hudson-Prentice top-scoring with 48. In recent years, this Cardiff ground has tended to flatten out as the game progresses, so these extra runs could prove vital.
With six overs to spare, Glamorgan were 21 for 1 when Eddie Byrom fell lbw to Karvelas for 12.
Glamorgan's decision to bowl first on a gloriously sunny day in Cardiff had been the subject of some debate before the match began and a quick start from Sussex's opening pair of Tom Clark and Tom Haines only added to those questions. Haines was on 19 off just 22 balls when he was trapped lbw by Hamza, and that slowed things down.
Clark was dismissed, playing a pull shot that took a top edge and was easily caught by Chris Cooke, the first of a series of wickets that suggested there was a two-speed nature to this Sophia Gardens surface.
A 50 stand between Tom Alsop and Cheteshwar Pujara steadied the innings after the loss of both openers, but a flurry of wickets after lunch justified Glamorgan's decision to win the toss. A brilliant 18-ball spell from Hamza saw him take three wickets for just four runs as Sussex went from 131 for 3 to 136 for 5.
One of those wickets was that of Pujara, who was caught behind off a ball that Hamza was able to seam away. Despite his prolonged success in county cricket, Glamorgan were something of a bogey team for Pujara prior to this match. He had scored just nine runs in four innings against them, the last of which ended in an 11-ball duck. His average of 2.25 coming into this match was the worst of his career against first-class opposition. The 41 runs he made in that innings were well put together, but he could not continue.
Harris claimed his third wicket when he had Danny Lamb caught at third slip by Andy Gorvin to leave the visitors on 140 for 6. A 66-run partnership between Carson and Hudson-Prentice took Sussex past 200, but when Harris forced a second drag to the stumps, it was the end for Hudson-Prentice.
Crane took the ninth wicket when he had Carson caught at slip by Colin Ingram for a well-made 39 before a last-wicket stand took Sussex past 250 for their first bonus point. Karvelas and Seales eventually put on 43 for the second wicket but were helped by Glamorgan's fielding. Karvelas was dropped for 18 and 32 and finished unbeaten on 39.
The final wicket came from Gorvin, playing his first match for Glamorgan this season on his 27th birthday. He bowled Seales for 17 as Sussex finished on 278 all out.
The only Glamorgan wicket to fall before the close was that of Byrom, who was trapped by a lovely delivery from Karvelas that swung in and left him leg before.