Glamorgan draw at Chesterfield after Rutherford's hundred

It's a feat which evaded Johnnie Clay's team of 1946, Wilf Wooller's men in 1948, 1949 and 1959, as well as Tony Lewis' side of 1968, plus Matthew Maynard's team of 2000 and Robert Croft's side of 2004. All completed four successive Championship wins, but Jacques Rudolph's men go into the final day of their rain-affected encounter at Queen's Park knowing that they are 10 wickets away from becoming the first side in Glamorgan's history to record five successive victories in the first-class competition.

Had it not been for rain and bad light yesterday, they might have been even nearer their goal , but a backs-to-the-wall approach by Derbyshire in their second innings after following-on, plus another series of weather interruptions, saw them reach 37/0 in the 19^th over when the light deteriorated and the umpires took the players off the field for the umpteenth time in the contest.

After Craig Meschede had completed his unfinished over from last night, Michael Hogan returned to the attack as Derbyshire continued their quiet accumulation, reaching 50 in the 26^th over. Andrew Salter then replaced Hogan and in his second over, he made the breakthrough as he trapped Billy Godleman l.b.w. with the total on 60. Chesney Hughes duly joined Rutherford and helped the Kiwi to quietly take the total to 86 whereupon Salter claimed his second l.b.w. victim as an appeal was upheld against Hughes.

Wayne Madsen duly joined Rutherford and struck Graham Wagg for a pair of fours as the hundred came up in the 41^st over. Ruaidhri Smith also had a pre-lunch spell but Rutherford remained obdurate as the Peakites reached 120/2 at lunch with the Kiwi unbeaten on 49 from 152 balls.

Derbyshire were still 38 runs in arrears as play resumed after lunch with Michael Hogan returning to the attack. Soon afterwards, Hamish Rutherford completed his patient fifty. David Lloyd then replaced Hogan as Derbyshire wiped off the arrears with Salter striving away at the other end to make further inroads before Colin Ingram's leg=spin was employed in a bid to break the third wicket stand. But Rutherford responded by striking Ingram for successive sixes to reach his hundred as the pair batted through the session.

Rutherford and Madsen had batted throughout the afternoon session, and when play resumed after the interval at 4pm with Derbyshire on 216/2, the pair had just another hour's batting in front of them with their side leading by 58 runs. But to the second ball of the session, delivered by David Lloyd, Rutherford departed l.b.w. for 108.

Wes Dusrton duly joined Madsen for the closing overs, with Michael Hogan also having an over of off-spin shortly before the players shook hands shortly before 5pm.

The efforts of the third wicket pair ended the Welsh county 's hopes of a record-breaking fifth successive victory , but nevertheless it held in tact Glamorgan's unbeaten record in four-day cricket this summer and consolidated their position in third place in the county table, ahead of their journey to the South Coast to play the Sussex Sharks in tomorrow night's Nat West T20 Blast game.