DURHAM batsmen fell almost as rapidly yesterday as slaughtered wasps in the Press box, where the more humane scribes ushered out a few of our stinging visitors.

There was no compassion from Michael Kasprowicz, however, as the Australian proved far too good for a Durham side stunned by the loss of their captain.

Jon Lewis has been struggling for three weeks with a groin problem and realised in the pre-match warm-up that he was unlikely to get through a four-day game.

He was not to know that the visit of Glamorgan could be over in two days after depressingly inadequate batting from both sides saw 18 wickets fall yesterday. The only period of sanity saw Glamorgan reach 100 for one, but they closed on 196 for eight, 72 ahead.

Lewis could play at his old club, Colchester, next week, but he has a condition known as Gilmore's groin, which will eventually require surgery.

The latest addition to Durham's astonishing casualty list left their batting resources looking more stretched than at any time in their first-class existence and forced them to hand championship debuts to Ashley Thorpe and Ian Pattison.

The extent of the dilemma was underlined by the sight of Nicky Phillips spinning the coin.

Like a previous Durham off-spinner, James Boiling, Phillips is a little eccentric, as opposed to being a few slices short of a full loaf.

He is not an obvious candidate for captaincy, and Lewis explained that he had been preferred to Neil Killeen and Andrew Pratt because those two already had enough on their plates.

Phillips made a good start by winning the toss, but shortly after 2.30 Durham were all out for 124 and the one bright spot of their day was that Mark Davies took his first four-wicket haul.

The last time Michael Gough and Gary Pratt opened together in the championship, on May 31 at Lord's, Gough was poleaxed by the last ball of the game's fifth over.

This time the final ball of the third over struck Pratt on the helmet and drew blood from a cut at the top of his nose, forcing him to retire.

If that was first blood to Kasprowicz, he wasted no time in exploiting the wound as he took the first four wickets in reducing Durham from 21 for none to 49 for four.

He also took the last two to finish with six for 47, his best figures for Glamorgan and a slight improvement on the six for 61 he took for Essex against Durham at Stockton in 1994.

On a pitch with bounce but little pace, he dug one in to secure Thorpe's fourth-ball dismissal but generally kept the ball well up and swung it away just enough to prey on dubious technique.

Ryhope-born Pattison, 20, is in his second year of a development contract with Durham, rather than being on the full staff.

Neither he nor Thorpe have done enough in the second team to justify a championship debut other than in an emergency, and when such opportunities arise they need to be seized.

It was clearly asking a bit much of Thorpe to go in when Pratt retired and his unconvincing attempt to fend off Kasprowicz resulted in a lobbed catch to third slip.

Nicky Peng got the ball of the day, which pitched on middle and hit off stump. He was playing back and probably expected more bounce, but this one skidded on to hit the stump halfway up.

After languishing below Marc Symington and Andrew Pratt in previous batting orders, Danny Law found himself at the crease in the 11th over and struggled to cope with Kasprowicz.

After playing in 17 Tests and 16 one-day internationals, the Queenslander no longer features in any national squads, which is partly why Glamorgan signed him.

Only Gough played him with any comfort, twice forcing him away with exquisite timing off the back foot to the cover boundary in an innings full of promise.

But on 30 he shaped to turn to leg and got a leading edge to extra cover. That was off the last ball of Kasprowicz's seventh over and off the first ball of his next Law, dropped on nought at first slip, edged a drive to wicketkeeper Mark Wallace.

The hat-trick ball to Andrew Pratt brought a confident but unsuccessful appeal for another catch at the wicket.

The going eased once Kasprowicz was rested after ten overs, but Pattison failed to take advantage. He had hung around well to make two in 13 overs, but straight after turning Darren Thomas to the square leg boundary he pulled a catch to mid-wicket.

That brought Gary Pratt back in to join his brother at 84 for five, but he lasted only four balls. One of those was driven sumptuously through extra cover, but he then thrust forward and an edge on to his pad presented Thomas with a return catch.

Andrew Pratt comfortably left behind his run of six single-figure championship scores, but in the second over after lunch he drove at Thomas and was lbw for 40.

Phillips edged Thomas to third slip and the rest of the tail could barely lay a bat on Kasprowicz.

In their last four first innings Durham have been out for 120 at Worcester, 191 against Derbyshire at Darlington, 116 against Nottinghamshire at the Riverside and now 124.

They cannot blame the pitches and three of Glamorgan's top five got out carelessly to trigger the obligatory call to the pitch liaison people when 15 wickets fall on the first day.

There was some variation in bounce, but not enough to justify a top score of only 47, made by Glamorgan skipper Steve James.

Robert Croft evidently didn't trust the pitch, opting for the one-day approach as he clobbered three successive balls from medium pacer Pattison for four and swiftly followed with two more.

Pattison's introduction in the 40th over prompted the dismissal of the dangerous Matthew Maynard as Wallace hit a full toss to Gary Pratt at cover, set off then stopped, leaving Maynard to become Pratt's 11th run-out victim of the season.

But after opening with a maiden Pattison's next two overs went for 25 and Phillips had to bring on himself. Croft went for another big hit off Phillips' sixth ball and was bowled for 33, made off 23 balls.

Davies proved the best bowler, marginally ahead of an out-of-luck Neil Killeen. Davies took the first wicket on 43 when he had left-hander Ian Thomas caught behind, then in his second spell James flashed a catch to Law at first slip and Michael Powell pushed forward to a ball which bounced to take the shoulder of the bat on its way to Gough at gully.

Adrian Dale top-edged an attempted pull to give Stephen Harmison a return catch, and on Maynard's exit Glamorgan had slipped from 100 for one to 127 for five. Wallace and Thomas surrendered in the last few overs, Thomas's drive to cover giving Davies figures of 4-44.

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