A host of players from the Essex Cricket Leagues helped the county seconds gain the upper-hand on the opening day of their County Championship clash with Glamorgan at Bishops’ Stortford.

The Eagles included Kishen Velani, Aron Nijjar, Joe Ellis-Grewal (all Wanstead), Tom Moore and Paul Walter (both Hornchurch) in their starting line-up for the keenly-contested fixture.

The Welsh side batted first but were found themselves in trouble early on, floundering on 57-5 after just 17 overs, with Walter at that point having taken two wickets for just three runs.

But Glamorgan were able to recover by the time the players headed for lunch, having reached 126-5 from 31 overs.

Their 138-run stand for the sixth wicket was eventually broken though, and Nijjar was looking impressive as he took his third wicket for the expense of just 21 runs, with the visitors 204-8 after 56 overs.

Glamorgan’s innings was ended in the following over as they were bowled out for just 205, with Wanstead skipper Ellis-Grewal finishing with figures of 2-1, with Walter ending on 2-11.

Essex faced 47 overs in reply before the close of play, finishing the day exactly 70 runs behind, but with five wickets in hand on 135-5.