Glamorgan v Derbyshire Day 4

Full marks for whoever was doing the rain dance this afternoon, because without you I've a horrible feeling that we'd be bemoaning our first defeat of the season tonight.

To cut a long story short, we made a pig's ear of the last day at Cardiff. Last night I said that if we lost 18 wickets in a day I would go and support Lancashire and it could have happened if rain hadn't come to our rescue.

It all looked easy enough when Garry Park and James Pipe were together at lunchtime, but I'd have to say that we looked a batsman light in this game and could have paid for it in the final session. James Pipe is an admirable cricketer and I'm a big fan, but six is too high in the order for him and we looked to have a long tail in this game.

Having said that, the problem is that we're missing experience at the top of the order. In the absence of Stuart Law and the continued absence of Chris Rogers we need the older heads to stand up and be counted. That being the case, Wavell's sashay down the wicket to go over the top in the second innings when we're battling to save the game was pretty poor stuff.

If Robert Croft only bowled against us he'd never be out of the England side as he always dismantles our batting. I know this is a bit left field but with the first Ashes Test at Cardiff I can see some logic in sticking him in the Test side for that one game. He knows the track inside out and could trouble the Aussie left handers. I was relieved to see him omitted last weekend at Derby and think we'd have struggled to win that had he played.

I totally understand that professional cricketers need to be fit, but likewise we should not expect late-30's players to be like whippets, especially when they're only bowling spin. That Croft is not the most lithe on the Glamorgan staff is beyond doubt, but so is the fact that he is still one of their best players.

Anyway, back to Derbyshire and we escaped with a draw and points. As I type we still sit top of division two as we face a month of FP Trophy and twenty over cricket. By the time we resume we should (SURELY?) have Chris Rogers over and Charl Langeveldt should be here. Both will make a big difference to the side, as will reverting to one spinner with Smith, Wagg and Redfern as back up.

There's no need to panic, or over react to a bad day, but we'll need to go back to the earlier performances to get something from Old Trafford on Sunday. Will Stuart Law be fit to face his old county? Depends on how bad a break he got, but we could certainly use him if at all possible.

More on that one tomorrow.