DAY 1 -
Morning report:
Derbyshire won the toss and chose to bowl first in cold and wet conditions at the County Ground in Derby, as Zak Chappell and Luis Rees made full use of the conditions. Dismissing the newly-formed opening combination of Billy Root and Ben Kellaway early on, the Derbyshire bowlers then cashed on and took the prized wicket of captain Sam Northeast, followed by in-form batter and white-ball captain Kiran Carlson. Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke, who looked to form a counter-attack of some sort, ended up losing their wickets as the clock struck noon and rain along with some bad light forced the umpires to stop proceedings and call in an early lunch.
Teatime report:
After a recovery of some sorts, Glamorgan managed to cross 150 in tricky batting conditions, ending their innings with 168 runs of the board after Dan Douthwaite, with the help of Timm van der Gugten, launched a counter-attack against the Derbyshire quicks. Douthwaite ended up losing his off-stump bail to a wonderful delivery from Pat Brown, but van der Gugten ensured Glamorgan crossed the 150-mark with the help of some quality strokes from Fraser Sheat at no. 10 and Ned Leonard at no. 11. Although the pitch did not look as pretty for bowling as it did when the red Dukes ball was new, Zak Chappell showed what hitting the correct areas can do in relatively cold and wet conditions at Derby. Timm van der Gugten, who spent enough time on the pitch to understand how it was playing, will expect Fraser Sheat and Ned Leonard to back him the way Jamie McIlroy did in the One-Day Cup, where the duo dismissed top-orders for fun. Familiar faces in David Lloyd and Aneurin Donald will be the crucial wickets for Derbyshire's, with Anuj Dal in the middle-order.
Stumps report:
After a good start by Timm van der Gugten who bowled Luis Reece early on, Derbyshire batters held their nerve and saw the new ball off. Harry Came and Wayne Madsen's unbeaten partnership of 78 runs brought the Derbyshire total to 119-2 before the umpires called it a day due to bad light. Ned Leonard, on his Glamorgan debut on loan from Somerset, picked up the wicket of Brooke Guest and looked threatening before Colin Ingram dropped a relatively straightforward catch at first slip, following which Leonard was punished by the Derbyshire batters. Glamorgan players and coaches would hope for better conditions to bowl in the morning, aiming to dismiss the half-centurion Harry Came early on.
DAY 2 -
Morning report:
Ben Kellaway bowled the first over of the day, till he was immediately replaced by the fast-bowling trio of van der Gugten, Sheat and Leonard. However, it was Kellaway who took all three wickets to fall in the session, all with his right-arm off-breaks. Dismissing both half-centurions Harry Came and Wayne Madsen, who tried to attack Kellaway unsuccessfully, it was a Chris Cooke stunner behind the stumps to add a third to Kellaway's scalps, this time of former Glamorgan player Aneurin Donald who was looking sharp, scoring 28 runs off just 23 balls. Donald, who hit a sweep down fine-leg for a boundary the previous ball, repeated his success shot, only this time to be pre-determined by Cooke who made a few steps to his left to catch the ball on its way to what seemed like another boundary past short-fine. A close run-out call given not out by the umpire to Anuj Dal's favour frustrated the Glamorgan close-in fielders who were certain that Dal was short of his crease. Short-leg fielder Billy Root walked away for lunch almost appalled at the leg umpires call.
Teatime report:
A further three Derbyshire wickets fell in the afternoon session as the pitch flattened out even more in the baking East Midlands sun. Anuj Dal continued his fine form with the bat, remaining not out on 69. Mason Crane took two wickets in a typical leg-spinners' fashion, turning it into the right-hander, surprising them with a googly, aiming for the stumps or an LBW. Dan Douthwaite sent Ollie Hannon-Dalby's middle-stump flying, but the hosts continued to pile on to the runs to take a comprehensive 210 runs with two wickets remaining.
Stumps report:
A session belonging to Glamorgan, despite Anuj Dal's dangerous innings of 94 batting with the tail. The visitors bowled Derbyshire out for 429, who got a 261-run lead. Billy Root and Ben Kellaway came out to open the innings for Glamorgan again, and seemed to have worked thus far as the newly-formed opening duo remained not out on 39, seeing the dangerous Zak Chappell off, who was a menace for the Welsh outfit in the first innings. With rain looming tonight throughout the Midlands and beyond, it seems difficult for play to start at 11 AM as normal. However, live updates can be followed via Glamorgan's X (formerly Twitter) channel.
DAY 3 -
Teatime report:
After the morning session was rained off, play finally commenced on Day 2 at 1:40 PM. Pat Brown wasted no time to dismiss the openers Billy Root and Ben Kellaway, who looked sharp overnight, both caught behind by Brooke Guest behind the stumps. Sam Northeast, who came in at 3, looked confident before getting bowled by Zak Chappell. After another short rain interruption, Kiran Carlson and Colin Ingram steadied the ship for Glamorgan and ended up carrying their bats for tea. Colin Ingram reached his fifty shortly before the bails for dislodged by the umpires for the break, which also brought up the 100-run partnership between Carlson and Ingram.
Stumps report:
After a successful afternoon session for Glamorgan, Derbyshire turned fortuned back into their favour with the big wickets Colin Ingram, Kiran Carlson and Chris Cooke. Jack Morley was the pick of the bowlers for Derbyshire, as the left-arm spinner tested the patience of both half-centurions Ingram and Carlson, who ended up losing their wickets to his relentless discipline by trying to attack. Chris Cooke looked settled at the crease and carried on from where Colin Ingram left, but he too departed after a 50-run stand with Kiran Carlson, losing his off-stump to captain and former Glamorgan batting all-rounder David Lloyd. Dan Douthwaite and Mason Crane saw the day off and ensured Glamorgan have something to fight for heading into Day 4, but it would take a miraculous effort from them and the remainder of the tail to get deny the hosts a victory.
DAY 4 -
End of Play Report:
Dan Douthwaite and Mason Crane's efforts to save the match overnight did not last long as Luis Reece and Derbyshire wasted no time in getting the tail out before a potential rain break. The Derbyshire openers in Harry Came and Luis Reece successfully chased the small target of 27 without breaking a sweat, as the hosts recorded a much-awaited and well-deserved win. Sam Northeast and Glamorgan will look to comeback quickly in an short turnaround as the Welsh side face Liecestershire at home starting Thursday August 29.