Leicestershire 426 for 8 (Hill 96, Wright 74*, Handscomb 63, Budinger 56, Cox 51*, Asitha 4-71) lead Glamorgan 229 (Cooke 55, Holland 3-40, Mike 3-54) by 197 runs
Veteran bowler Chris Wright smashed an unbeaten 74 to follow Lewis Hill's 96, and fifties from Peter Handscomb, Sol Budinger and Ben Cox and give Leicestershire a commanding lead over Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens.
Former and current captains Hill and Handscomb combined for a 142-run partnership after weathering a storm from Asitha Fernando, who claimed a debut four-wicket haul for Glamorgan. The home side's other debutant, Shoaib Bashir, remained wicketless from 22 overs.
After Hill was dubiously run out, wickets fell cheaply until a swashbuckling innings from 39-year-old Wright - his 15th first-class half-century - took Leicestershire past four batting points in an unbeaten 102-run ninth-wicket partnership, with Rishi Patel unable to bat.
After resuming day two in a windy Cardiff with the sun beating down on the pitch that got better as day one progressed, Leicestershire had a strong start at 65 for 1, trailing Glamorgan by just 164 runs.
Signs of a Glamorgan fightback looked slim throughout the first session, opener Budinger pushing past 50 with ease, so much so that a first career century looked entirely possible despite being dropped on 18 by Colin Ingram the previous evening. With Ben Mike at No. 3, the run rate seamlessly ticked along before the allrounder was dismissed lbw for 41, Asitha picking up his first wicket for the Welsh county.
It wasn't long after when Budinger parted ways, but Glamorgan's high didn't last long despite a strong spell from Fernando. The Glamorgan overseas seamer thought he had Hill caught behind first ball and saw Australia international Handscomb play and miss three times in his first over; a vast improvement from Asitha's initial spell on day one.
It took Glamorgan over an hour after lunch to finally get the breakthrough, Handscomb top-edging an Andy Gorvin short delivery for 63 after he and Hill comfortably passed half-centuries. In familiar fashion, one wicket for the hosts brought strong spells - from 265 for 3 to 276 for 6, Hill next to go just four short of his first century since June 2023. Then Rehan Ahmed, clipping an angled-in half-volley to Eddie Byrom at square-leg to give Gorvin another in a bright spell.
A game of cat and mouse negotiated Leicestershire to tea, a session of two halves as it closed out with Glamorgan restricting the visitors to seven runs in seven overs, Ben Kellaway impressing in an economical spell. Bens Cox and Green cautiously attempted to steer the ship, knowing Patel could not bat due to his thumb damaged early on day one.
Green eventually got off the mark but added nothing of substance followed by Tom Scriven when the new ball was taken. The depth in batting was shown by Wright walking out to bat at what was effectively No. 11. Fourteen career fifties turned to 15 with a handsome straight six off Kellaway to reach the 47-ball milestone dealing almost entirely in boundaries, supported by Cox in a mighty partnership against the tiring Glamorgan bowlers.
