A FINE knock by Abergavenny’s Mark Wallace has set Glamorgan up to secure their first LV=County Championship victory of the season, writes Edward Bevan.

Wallace’s priceless 79, coupled with a brilliant stumping late in the day, put Glamorgan firmly in the driving seat, requiring just eight wickets on Thursday to secure a maximum return.

That came after an Essex batting collapse, their final six wickets falling for 20 runs in the morning as Graham Wagg found his groove and blasted away the Essex tail.

Wagg enabled the home team to gain a 93 run lead over Essex , which was extended to 121 at lunch with Glamorgan 28 for 2 in their second innings.

Resuming on 183 for 4 Ryan Ten Doeschate and Callum Taylor had taken their partnership to 61 before Ten Doeschate wafted at one outside the off stump to give Wallace a straightforward catch. Meschede was then rested and replaced by Wagg who, with his first and last ball dismissed Taylor and Graham Napier respectively .After Meschede had taken the ninth wicket Wagg completed his 5 wicket haul, 5 for 54, with a spell of 4-7 from 15 balls.

Jacques Rudolph and James Kettleborough had overs to face before lunch and Jamie Porter got one to lift to Rudolph who fended it to first slip before David Master had Kettleborough taken at short leg,.

However, by tea Glamorgan had played themselves into a potentially winning position.

They were 228 for8 at the interval, a lead of 321, with a minimum of 128 overs left in the game.

They had slipped to 78 for 5, a lead of 161 but were then rescued by Wallace and Wagg who shared a partnership of 98 for the sixth wicket at six and a half runs an over.

The session between lunch and tea had seen Glamorgan plunder the small matter of 200 runs, in contrast to the pre-lunch session when eight wickets had tumbled, and the efforts of Wallace and Wagg during the afternoon had put their side into the ascendancy, despite the loss of Craig Meschede in the final over before tea. David Lloyd and his runner were duly joined by Andrew Salter as play resumed with the Welsh county 321 runs to the good.

Adeel Malik took a fine catch off his own bowling to dismiss Lloyd to move to 240/9 before Andrew Salter was dismissed chasing boundaries, his dismissal leaving Essex chasing an improbable 364 off 117 overs.

Opener Nick Browne made a fluent start driving Michael Hogan through the covers before Wagg trapped him l.b.w, the 17th wicket to fall in the day.

However, the combination of Salter and Wallace saw Jaik Mickleburgh stumped with eight overs remaining.

Essex were 51/2 at the end of an action-packed third day, still with it all to do to force a positive result.