Twenty one wickets tumbled today at Derby as Glamorgan were dismissed for 121 shortly after lunch on the second day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Derbyshire. With a first innings lead of 130, the home side then made 171 with Kieran Bull taking 3/36, leaving the Welsh county a target of 302 to win. By the close they were 16/1.
Evening update
Derbyshire resumed on 64/3 after tea, and a useful lead of 194 with Graham Wagg and David Lloyd continuing in tandem with the ball. Gary Wilson announced his arrival in the middle by cover-driving Wagg for four before outside-edging him for four through the slip cordon. Alex Hughes also cover drove Lloyd for four before Kieran Bull entered the attack. With his fifth delivery the off-sinner removed Wilson as Hogan took a good catch running around from mid-off to pouch the skied drive.
Two balls later Bull struck again as Connor Brown at short-leg smartly held onto a thick inside edge from Matt Critchley as he played forward to the spinner with Derbyshire on 101/5 and a lead of 232. Hughes greeted the return of van der Gugten by flat-batting him through extra-cover before cover-driving Bull for another four. Another blow into the covers saw Hughes complete a 79-ball fifty before Harvey Hosein straight drove Bull for four followed by a deft legside glance against Smith.
Hosein also late cut Bull for four but with the total on 141, Brown took his second smart catch, this time diving low at backward point to end Hughes’ tenure of the crease as the Peakite attempted a square-cut against Smith. His departure saw Martin Andersson join Hosain but his stay was a brief one as he top-edged a sweep against his seventh delivery from Bull and Tom Cullen at square-leg completed the regulation catch.
142/7 then became 146/8 as Palladino swatted a ball from Smith straight into Brown’s hands at backward point. Lockie Ferguson defiantly straight drove Bull for four before clipping Smith to square-leg. Hosein also on-drove Smith for four as the Derbyshire lead went past 300. Hogan then returned and with is first ball saw Hosein pull a ball to the diving Kiran Carlson at deep square-leg. Three balls later Hogan bowled Rampaul, leaving Glamorgan a target of 302 in five overs and two days.
Cook and Brown opened the batting against Palladino and Ferguson, with Brown hooking the latter for four before Cook clipped the Kiwi through mid-wicket. However, to the third ball of the final over, Cook inside-edged a ball from Palladino onto his stumps as Glamorgan ended the day on 16/1.
Afternoon Session
Five wickets had tumbled for 11 runs in 63 balls before lunch as Glamorgan nosedived from 83/2 to 94/7 leaving David Lloyd and new batsman Timm van der Gugten with plenty to do if Glamorgan were going to gain anything like parity with the Peakites as Lockie Ferguson returned to the attack in tandem with Tony Palladino. Van der Gugten opened his account by edging Ferguson through the slips for four before on-driving Palladino. But next delivery the seamer claimed his fifth scalp as he bowled the Dutchman.
Lloyd then inside-edged Ferguson for four to fine-leg before outside-edging Palladino to the ropes at third man. But on 25 he edged a rising ball from Palladino into the hands of second slip. Kieran Bull was then struck a glancing blow on his helmet by Ferguson before having his middle stump uprooted next ball as Glamorgan were dismissed for 121 having lost their last eight wickets for 38 runs.
Van der Gugten shared the new ball with Michael Hogan as Derbyshire looked to build on their first innings lead of 130 runs. Tom Lace duly off-drove Hogan for four but in his second over van der Gugten found the edge of Godleman’s bat and a diving Chris Cooke completed the catch sprawling in front of the slip cordon.
5/1 saw Wayne Madsen make his way to the middle and he began by pulling van der Gugten for four to mid-wicket. before punching him off the back foot through mid-off. Madsen then survived a loud appeal for l.b.w. before carving a visibly disgruntled van der Gugten over the head of point. Lace then drilled successive offside boundaries against Hogan before, to his delight, van der Gugten bowled Madsen as he under-edged a ball onto his stumps.
With the scoreboard reading 29/2, Alex Hughes edged van der Gugten for four through the slips before Lace did the same. Hughes then drove Hogan to the boards at long-on before almost dropping his bat onto the wickets as he fended off a delivery from van der Gugten. He then carved Ruaidhri Smith through point for four before Lace drove Wagg in the air past cover. Hughes also despatched a full toss from Smith through mid-on before drilling him through extra-cover for three, but Lloyd then replaced Smith at removed Lace l.b.w. with his second delivery as Derbyshire went to tea on 64/3.
Morning Report
It was 25th September 2014 when Kieran Bull last took a Championship wicket for Glamorgan with the off-spinner removing Hampshire’s James Vince at Cardiff, before the following summer being stricken by a stress fracture in his back and spending time on the sidelines. 1,424 days later he marked his return to red ball action by delivering an important and frugal spell at the Racecourse End after Glamorgan’s new ball attack had made early inroads into the Derbyshire batting.
In particular, the 23 year-old helped to put a brake on the Derbyshire recovery which was being overseen by Billy Godleman, and allowed Michael Hogan to rotate his seamers at the City End. Bull also claimed the wicket of Harvey Hosein as the young wicket-keeper displayed footwork more akin to someone in Strictly Come Dancing as he waltzed down the wicket looking to hit the Welshman in the direction of the Peak District, only to be deftly stumped by Chris Cooke.
The upshot of Glamorgan’s collective efforts after opting to bowl first in the overcast conditions was dismissing the home side for 251 and by the time drizzle brought an early end, Stephen Cook and Connor Brown already had twenty runs on the scoreboard. Meteorological conditions were the polar opposite this morning with the County Ground bathed in sunshine, but as events showed, there was still generous assistance for the bowlers from the green-tinged surface
Lockie Ferguson and Ravi Rampaul resumed the bowling duties with the former extracting some sharp lift from the surface and striking Cook several blows on his torso. Brown also guided a short ball from Rampaul through the slip cordon, but in the days seventh over, Brown was yorked by Ferguson. 29/1 saw the arrival of Tom Cullen who got off the mark by steering Rampaul for four through point before inside-edging him to fine-leg.
But, with the total on 43, Cook edged Rampaul to Gary Wilson at second slip as Kiran Carlson joined Cullen. The young tyro began with a cover drive for four against Ferguson before also being struck on his body by the Kiwi paceman. He soon recovered and greeted the introduction of Martin Andersson into the attack by drilling his first delivery through backward point for four.
Another square-cut for four by Carlson followed later in the over, before shortly afterwards Carlson thick-edged Andersson just wide of third slip for another boundary. Tony Palladino also replaced Rampaul at the Racecourse End and was nurdled for three by Carlson before Cullen skewed a drive against Palladino for four to third man. But in Palladino’s next over he removed Carlson who top-edged a pull against the seamer and was caught by Andersson running in from long-leg.
83/3 then became 86/4 as Palladino removed Cullen who was caught behind, before three runs later Chris Cooke departed l.b.w. playing forward to Alex Hughes. Only one further run had been added when Palladino struck again as he bowled Wagg with a wicked delivery which appeared to jag back in and keep low.Then in the final over of the session a wicket fell, as yesterday, to the last ball before lunch as Palladino struck again as he bowled Ruaidhri Smith.