Glamorgan v Derbyshire preview

No Stuart Law tomorrow as his finger injury, as I reported the other night, has turned out to be a break. Its hard to say how long that may keep him out for, but he'll be sorry to miss the Lancashire game this weekend .

Derbyshire have taken 13 to Wales, namely:

Stephen Stubbings
Garry Park
Dom Telo
Dan Redfern
Wavell Hinds
Greg Smith
James Pipe (captain and wicketkeeper)
Graham Wagg
Jonathan Clare
Jake Needham
Mark Lawson
Ian Hunter
Tim Groenewald

Dom Telo looks set for a start in place of Stuart Law, while the bowling line-up will depend on the look of the wicket tomorrow. It is unlikely we'll go without a spinner, so the final side will probably see the top eight, plus Ian Hunter, with the other two places between the remainder. A lack of bounce may see Lawson and Groenewald miss out, but I'll be keen to see the final decision around 10.45am tomorrow. However you look at it, we've a young side out and I'll be keen to see how they perform.

As for Glamorgan, our old nemesis Mr Croft returns. I read on 606 that with Rees, Cosgrove and Croft Glamorgan must have the country's fattest squad, but all three are good cricketers and Croft's omission from one day games is strange. Their side lines up:


Gareth Rees
Mark Cosgrove
Ben Wright
Michael Powell
Jamie Dalrymple (captain)
Tom Maynard
Mark Wallace (wicketkeeper)
Robert Croft
David Harrison
James Harris
Adam Shantry
Garnett Kruger

One of the seamers will drop out for the hosts, who will have two spinners in skipper Dalrymple and Croft. With our injuries and absent players we will have to work hard to get a result but the side are capable of doing so. It would be nice to see Wavell Hinds get a score, but thus far the Derbyshire success has been firmly based on a team ethic and that will again be the key.

After this game we don't play another Championship match until June. How nice would it be to go into the one day matches clear at the top? Don't get me wrong, there'll be a few defeats along the way and the usual moaners will be out, but I suspect that this season will at least be one of progress, and we can ask no more than that.

See you tomorrow.