Glamorgan v. Derbyshire day three

Glamorgan 431 and 132-5 (Ingram 64, up Hassan 48, Tickner 2-19)

Derbyshire 350 (Reece 73, Thomson 60, Gorvin 5-85)

Glamorgan lead by 213 runs with 5 wickets remaining

I doubt that even the most positive of Derbyshire supporters - and I number myself among them - could have foreseen the side, at 162-7, getting three batting bonus points. 

Even if they did, to then envisage Glamorgan fighting for their lives before tea would have got you some serious odds at the local bookmaker. 

And yet so it transpired. Alex Thomson and Luis Reece took their eighth wicket stand to 105, before Alex edged a good one through to Chris Cooke. At that stage fourteen were still needed to avoid the follow on, but a few lusty, trademark blows by Zak Chappell got them there, before he was bowled. 

Even then the comeback was not finished, as Blair Tickner proved an admirable, unorthodox foil for Luis Reece, as they added a further 62 runs for the last wicket. 

There is something endearing about watching Tickner bat. He combines the highest backlift this side of Brian Lara, with footwork sometimes akin to Groucho Marx. He might move outside leg stump, or down the pitch, or a bit of both. His feet, hands and head are not always where they should be and there seem more limbs down the batting end than usual, yet he gets a surprising number in the middle of the bat.

Certainly, if you drop it short he will have a go and, with batting and bowling averages near identical this summer, could perhaps claim - with that trademark smile on his face - that he is a genuine all-rounder.

He was a perfect foil for Luis Reece today, who went above and beyond the call of duty in making an unbeaten 73 in 184 balls of defiance. It amply illustrated his commitment to the cause and also the huge advantage of having a man who has faced the new ball in the middle order, when things go wrong. His footwork was limited by his injury, but he ground the bowlers down and got Derbyshire back into the game. He even managed the shot of the innings, a beautiful leg side pickup for six, just before lunch.

He didn't take the field after Tickner was finally bowled, trying to hit Fernando to somewhere near Swansea after 350 had been reached. Yet he undoubtedly looked on, impressed, as the Kiwi followed his batting heroics with his best spells for Derbyshire. 

He and Dal wasted nary a delivery and Tickner's pace earned him two wickets, hurtling in and causing problems for all. He could have had more, as both ul Hassan and Ingram had close lbw shouts.His three spells were first rate, real 'lead by example' stuff, and 2-19 in 13 overs was a magnificent effort. I also liked his applause for Gorvin, who again resisted a solid working over at the end of the day.

Thomson followed his fine innings with some very accurate bowling, thoroughly justifying his choice as lead spinner. With respect to Morley, a young player I rate highly, he wouldn't have scored the runs we so badly needed here. Mickey Arthur got that selection spot on.

There was no real urgency in the Glamorgan batting until the closing overs, when both set batters were dismissed. After that it was a case of battening down the hatches. The home side will hope to set Derbyshire north of 300 in the final innings, while our hope will be to keep it under that score. 

A good final day has been set up. 

Let's hope that it lives up to the sense of anticipation.