Richard Montgomerie's rehabilitation continued at Swansea yesterday as the Sussex opener made his highest Championship score since 2003.

He resumes today needing another 14 runs for what would be a cherished first Championship hundred since May 2003 as Sussex finished the day on 225-2.

Montgomerie's patient half-century against Middlesex on Saturday - his first in 14 Championship innings - was evidence that the worst run of form in his six years with the county might be over.

His team-mates and director of cricket Peter Moores knew he was too good a player not to come good again although Montgomerie must have had his doubts when he lodged just 46 runs in nine Championship innings before the drought was broken at the weekend.

A confident pull and full-blooded straight drive which brought him boundaries in the same over from Andrew Davies early on were more like the old Monty, but for long stages against a nagging attack on a slow pitch batting looked hard work until Murray Goodwin joined him to contribute 63 not out in an unbroken third wicket stand of 92.

Montgomerie's return to form has put Sussex in a strong position although the loss of the first session yesterday following Wednesday's complete washout makes the draw odds-on, especially as the pitch is the slowest Swansea regulars have seen for years.

Local mythology has it that past Glamorgan captains used to consult the tide times before deciding whether to bat or bowl on a ground which lies on a reclaimed sandbank.

Swansea Bay may only be a good six hit from the ground and the Devon coast can be seen from the pavilion but St Helen's is as far removed from the idea of an idyllic seaside ground as it is possible to be.

The square becomes the in-goal area for Swansea's rugby players in the winter and the distant roar is not the sound of the waves but the traffic rumbling down the Mumbles Road.

Spinners Robert Croft and Dean Cosker extracted some slow turn yesterday but it was hard work for the quicker bowlers and Glamorgan's lack of penetration in the seam department was all too apparent.

Their international trio, Simon Jones, Michael Kasprovicz and Alex Wharf, are all unavailable so Adam Harrison made his first-class debut alongside elder brother David as Glamorgan fielded their first set of siblings for 22 years. The 19-year-old made a promising start too, picking up a notable first scalp in only his fourth over when Ian Ward was caught behind nibbling at a ball which held its line.

The Sussex openers had put on 65 in 18 overs - comfortably their biggest stand of the season - with Ward hitting eight fours in his 35, but Croft deployed his resources carefully and introduced his sixth bowler after just 43 overs.

Montgomerie added 68 in 30 overs with Mike Yardy for the second wicket as Yardy took his first-class aggregate for the season to 725 before Croft deceived him with his arm ball in the 48th over.

Glamorgan would have been reasonably pleased with their work at that stage, but no Sussex batsman is in better form than Murray Goodwin at the moment, as he quickly demonstrated with a succession of meaty off-side drives and cuts.

He had a couple of sticky moments. Matthew Elliott dived full-length behind wicketkeeper Mark Wallace but failed to hang on when Goodwin top-edged a sweep off Cosker on 24. Then on 43 a thick edge flew to the boundary as Wallace and slip stood staring at each other.

His fourth half-century of the season came off 69 balls with six fours and, like Montgomerie, he must be confident of converting it into a century some time today.

June 3, 2005