Glamorgan travel to Derby for their first away contest of 2016 in the Specsavers County Championship with the four-day game against Derbyshire scheduled to start at The 3aaa County Ground in Derby at 11.00am on Sunday, April 24th (writes Andrew Hignell)
The Welsh county went down to a ten-wicket defeat at home to Leicestershire in their opening Championship match – the first time since 1984 that they had lost their first game by this margin and their heaviest defeat in their opening four-day game since they were beaten by 201 runs by Sussex at The SSE SWALEC in 2010. Six years ago Glamorgan bounced straight back by defeating Middlesex at Lord’s by 78 runs, so Jacques Rudolph and his team will be hoping that history will repeat itself as they travel to Derby.
Glamorgan’s visit to Derbyshire last summer saw them play at the picturesque Queen’s Park ground in Chesterfield, where the Welsh county were in the ascendency, forcing the Peakites to follow-on before a rear-guard action led by Hamish Rutherford saw the home side hold on for a draw.
In contrast, the Welsh county have a modest record in recent times in Championship cricket at the Derby ground having lost on the last four occasions they have played at the County Ground. Their visit in 2014 saw left-arm paceman Mark Footitt, now with Surrey, produce figures of 6/48 as Glamorgan’s batsmen, for the second time in the match, failed to come to terms with a capricious surface as Derbyshire recorded a four-wicket victory.
In the 2012 game at Derby, the home side won by eight wickets, whilst in 2011 they were victorious again by 186 runs. They had been the victors again In 2010 when they won by eight wickets in what proved to be an extraordinary game which featured record-breaking tenth wicket stands as the last pair on both sides each posted century partnerships. For the Welsh county, it was James Harris and Will Owen who shared a stand of 121, but their stirring efforts were to no avail as Derbyshire recorded another victory over the Welsh side at their headquarters.
Glamorgan’s most recent Championship victory at Derby came in 2006 when Mark Cosgrove, the left-handed Australian struck a career-best 233 in a furious assault on the Peakites bowling which helped to set-up a six-wicket victory for his side.
