Ingram puts Glamorgan in charge against Warwicks

Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Edgbaston (day three)

Glamorgan 360 & 192-5: Ingram 80*, Kellaway 42; Bamber 4-31

Warwickshire 252: Thompson 57, Bamber 46; Norton 4-48

Glamorgan (6 pts) lead Warwickshire (4 pts) by 300 runs with five wickets in hand

Match scorecard

Ethan Bamber's one-man mission kept Warwickshire afloat but Glamorgan remained on top on day three of their County Championship game at Edgbaston.

Bamber shone first with the bat, scoring 46 from 48 balls to ensure, along with Jordan Thompson (57) that Warwickshire avoided the follow-on.

The eighth-wicket pair added 79 in 13 overs to lift their side to 252 all out, as Tom Norton continued the sparkling start to his career with 4-48.

Glamorgan took a handy first innings lead of 108, but their attempts to build on that were hampered by Bamber's seven-ball burst of three wickets for no runs which the visitors 13-3.

The former Middlesex all-rounder ended the day with 4-31, but Glamorgan remain strongly placed on 192 for five - 300 ahead - thanks to Colin Ingram's unbeaten 80 from 131 balls.

Despite rain interference every day, the Welsh county remains strongly-placed to press hard for victory on the final day.

Bamber's all-round performance, meanwhile, will no doubt have been noted by England's selectors, and also those involved in the search for the new James Bond which began this week.

After Warwickshire resumed on the third morning on 123-6, the follow-on became a real threat after they lost the big wicket of Beau Webster, caught low at first slip by Ingram off Norton.

That left the last three wickets with 69 to find, but the first of them, Bamber and Thompson, did the job in belligerent fashion. The follow-on figure was passed in grand manner when Bamber heaved Zain-ul-Hassan over long on for his third six.

When Bamber sought a similar blow off Ben Kellaway in the next over he found only long on, but Thompson advanced to his first half-century for Warwickshire (58 balls). The impressive Norton finally ended the innings by removing Thompson and Olly Hannon-Dalby in three balls.

Glamorgan negotiated six overs before lunch unscathed but met a Bamber blitz immediately after the rain-extended interval.

The seamer struck with his first, sixth and seventh balls of the session as ul-Hassan (bagging a pair), Kiran Carlson and Asa Tribe edged full-length outswingers into the cordon. Suddenly, Glamorgan were 13-3 - 121 in front - and this captivating contest had evened up again.

Kellaway and Ingram stalled the Bears' fightback with a partnership of 92 in 28 overs before the irrepressible Bamber returned to have the former caught at slip.

Glamorgan's control was underlined in the last hour, though, as Ingram advanced to an 81-ball half-century and added 83 with Sean Dickson (39) who fell lbw to Ed Barnard late on. But the last day is Glamorgan's to dictate.

Report by ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay.

Warwickshire all-rounder Jordan Thompson said: "The most important thing today for us was getting past that follow-on and keeping us in the position of potentially still winning the game. Going into day four, all results are still possible.

"Ethan and I managed to put on a few and it was important that we were positive and weren't just sitting ducks. We ran hard and Ethan came out and took them on and that was great because it took the pressure off me a little bit and built a partnership.

"Then when we bowled, we needed to keep it tight. Ethan bowled brilliantly up top to take some wickets and then the most important thing was to control the run-rate which we did well.

"We'll see what tomorrow brings. We'll see how the pitch is playing and we have got another heavy roller to use. With that short boundary, Glamorgan will have to have a good think about the time they want to bowl for and the target they want to set us."

Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson said: "We are in a good position and have played a lot of good cricket to get ourselves into that position. We'll go into day four with a chance to put them under pressure tomorrow and I'll have a think tonight with the head coach and try and come up with a plan.

"There is a short boundary and the wicket is still pretty good so we will have to suss it out We want to give ourselves plenty of overs to try and force a result but with a 40-metre boundary and their pretty stacked batting line-up we don't want to give them too much of a carrot. The wicket is doing a little bit but when the ball gets a bit older it can be quite flat.

"Ethan Bamber bowled really well for them up top. It has been that type of wicket. You can take two or three wickets quite quickly and then when people get in it can look like scoring is easier. Colin is still there so hopefully we can cement our position in the morning and we have guys still to come who can bat so hopefully we can get into a good position."