Date-stamped : 27 Jul97 - 10:36 Britannic County Championship: Rollins and May quick to punish Glamorgan By Neil Hallam at Chesterfield First day of four: Derbyshire (379-4) v Glamorgan WHATEVER it was that persuaded Glamorgan, the championship leaders, to bowl first at Queen`s Park, they had ample time to rue the de- cision as openers Adrian Rollins and Michael May made centuries of con- trasting character to launch Derbyshire to- wards a commanding 379 for four. Rollins became the 11th Derbyshire player to make a century before lunch on the way to 148 and May applied himself for 87 overs for 116, his maiden championship century; their partnership of 247 in 54 overs standing as the fourth highest for the first wicket in the county`s history. It also surpassed the 192 of John Wright and John Morris at Swansea in 1988 as Derbyshire`s best for any wicket against Glamorgan, but since they scored 523 in the first innings of their last game at Chesterfield in June and still lost to Hamp- shire, some caution about the value of this feat would be wise. With pitches here no longer offering the pace and bounce which once made seamers lick their lips, it was probably a tinge of green which prompted Derbyshire`s insertion but precious little beat the bat all day and the openers profited from the absence of a third man for the first 90 minutes. The morning session alone yielded 32 fours. Derbyshire rattled past 100 in 16 overs as Glamorgan`s bowlers strayed in line and length, and Rollins, who made 210 against Hamp- shire, had six minutes to spare in completing his century off 97 balls, with 21 fours. He added another eight fours, the most handsome punched away off the back foot, before the impressive left-arm spin of Dean Cosker induced a mistimed drive to short cover and May, in only his third championship game, had 16 fours, the majority speared past gully, in reaching his hundred off 184 balls. Chris Adams hoisted Cosker over cover for six in a rapid 46 before Waqar beat him on the drive, and May`s 332-minute vig- il in sapping heat ended with a weary pull straight to square leg. May`s exclusion from the side after making what was then a ca- reer-best 67, against the Australians in June, was one of the oddities of selection policy which undermined the players` faith in Dean Jones`s captaincy prior to his walk-out. Since then this stocky grafter has scored two cent- uries, having taken an unbeaten 107 off Pakistan A earlier this month, and with a first-class average in the fifties he is making his point in the best way possible. Meanwhile, the aftermath of Jones`s departure rumbles on, with former captain Ian Buxton resigning as cricket committee chairman. Buxton declined to comment but it is known his de- cision followed criticism of his part in the breakdown of re- lationships between dressing- room and administration. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Reliable Clarke makes his mark By Neil Hallam at Chesterfield Second day of four: Glamorgan (39-1) trail Derbyshire (513-6 dec) by 474 runs ONLY a few Derbyshire players have advanced their careers dur- ing a season of upheaval in the dressing-room and Vince Clarke can reasonably claim to be foremost among them after the unbeat- en, run-a-ball 76 with which he added to the travails of champi- onship leaders Glamorgan on a rain-blighted day at Queen`s Park. Adrian Rollins and Michael May, who scored centuries on the first day, have enhanced their reputations but neither has been more con- sistently effective than Clarke, who arrived via Somer- set and Leicester- shire as a leg-spinner last winter and is es- tablished as a reliable middle-order batsman and purveyor of lim- ited-over dob. Clarke succeeded in maintaining his concentration throughout a day disrupted by showers, and enabled Derbyshire, who had re- sumed on 379 for four, to top 500 on this ground for the second time this season. The intention, when the declaration came at 513 for six, was to subject Glamorgan to an awkward last 75 minutes, but rain, which hit more than half the day`s play, allowed only 11 overs in which 39 runs were scored for the loss of James, lbw offering no stroke. Derbyshire`s momentum had flagged in the final hour of the first day and did not pick up again until nightwatchman Andrew Harris was judged to be caught behind, and a stunning catch at second slip by Matthew Maynard had punished Matt Vandrau`s flirtation outside the off-stump. Clarke punched Waqar Younis`s first ball after tea past cover for his 11th four to complete his fifth first-class half-century of the season, and he had another four and a top-edged six to his name when declaration cut short a seventh-wicket stand with Karl Krikken which yielded 81 in 14 overs. Derbyshire had added 134 in 29 overs around five stoppages on a pitch so neutered of pace and bounce that Waqar`s two wickets from 28 overs was at a price of 132 and Steve Watkin`s three from 33 cost only one run fewer. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Dale keeps vigil to ensure relief for Glamorgan By Neil Hallam at Chesterfield Third day of four: Derbyshire (513-6 dec & 28-0) lead Glamor- gan (364-8 dec) by 177 runs AS A prescription for dwindling returns with the bat, Adrian Dale could hardly have wished for better than the mild restora- tive of a Queen`s Park pitch once regarded as one of the fastest and bounciest in the land but now so utterly devoid of life that spectators must be wondering if a large scoop of bro- mide has somehow found its way into the top-dressing. For Dale, whose unbeaten 142 enabled Glamorgan to declare as soon as the follow-on total of 364 had been reached with eight wickets down, the tonic could hardly have been more timely. Since scoring a century against Warwickshire in Glamorgan`s first championship match of the season, Dale`s pickings have been slim; just a couple of half centuries to relieve a dispir- iting sequence of low scores which prior to this match showed three ducks in five innings. Glamorgan`s reward for persevering with a player who last sea- son managed under 600 championship runs at an average below 30 was the avoidance of the embarrassment of following on in con- ditions in which even Waqar Younis and Devon Malcolm have been made to look in- nocuous. Glamorgan have, in fact, used only a dozen players in the championship this season, despite Robert Croft`s regular absences on patri- otic duty. Derbyshire have thus far used 24. Glamor- gan are top of the table. Derbyshire are bottom. A lesson in the value of consis- tency and continuity, one suspects. An object lesson in application and selectivity was available in Dale`s 5.5 hours at the crease following the early departure of Hugh Morris, lbw to a ball which appeared to swing late. Little else deviated all day for either seamers or spinners but Dale`s example of unwavering concentration was lost on some of his colleagues as Glamorgan lapsed to 222 for six just after lunch. Darren Thomas, the nightwatchman, survived a caught-and-bowled chance before top-edging a pull to long-leg in the same over from An- drew Harris. Matthew Maynard, having appeared able to score virtu- ally at will, left cursing his sloppiness when a flick off his legs sailed to a fielder. Phil DeFreitas appears to enjoy the captaincy thrust upon him by last month`s departure of Dean Jones and he is not afraid to try the unorthodox: like placing all nine fielders on the off-side when bowling at Gary Butcher, for instance. An edge to first-slip supported DeFreitas`s theory about Butcher but it was here that Glamorgan found a more durable ally for Dale in Adrian Shaw, whose prowess with the bat has earned him prefer- ence over Colin Metson as wicketkeeper. Karl Krikken`s prowess with bat and gloves convinces many that he is as good as any wicketkeeper in the country but there was a rare blemish when he let Shaw, then 17, off a stumping chance; a costly miss as the seventh-wicket pair added 90 in 32 overs. Shaw, a model of restraint apart from a six over mid-wicket at the expense of Vince Clarke`s leg-spin, resisted for almost two hours before dragging a wide ball from Malcolm into his stumps, and the prospect of being forced to bat loomed when Waqar Younis chipped feebly to mid-on. Dale, who had 20 fours in his 252-ball vigil, averted the threat and Derbyshire extended their advantage to 177 runs in the 11 overs which followed Glamorgan`s attempt to renew the possibility of a positive outcome. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Derbyshire threatening legal action By Neil Hallam at Chesterfield Derbyshire (513-6 dec & 35-0) drew with Glamorgan 364-8 dec THERE is no such thing as a blank day for Derbyshire support- ers at the moment. Even when rain permits only 13 balls, condemn- ing the game against championship leaders Glamorgan to a draw, they have the unabated rumblings of a prolonged power struggle to command their attention. Yesterday it was a mailshot issued by the club to answer mem- bers` accusations of a committee cover-up over last month`s sud- den resignation of captain Dean Jones which incited animated dis- cussion. In particular was the revelation that Jones, whose departure was officially described as "amicable", could yet face legal ac- tion over an alleged breach of contract. Jones`s bitter parting shot, claiming a lack of support from senior players, ignited weeks of acrimonious division between dress- ing room and administration. The mailshot disclosed that legal advice had been sought on the matter and added that it was being left in abeyance and would be reviewed at the end of the season. The five-page communique confirmed, furthermore, that Aus- tralian coach Les Stillman would have no further dealings with either first or second-team players while serving out his con- tract this sea- son. Perhaps most significantly of all, the letter admitted that "the committee has been actively seeking an out-of-court set- tle- ment" with former captain Kim Barnett to obviate the need for his appeal to Lord`s over club fines totalling -L1,500 going ahead. The club`s legal advisers are believed to have informed Der- byshire that their case is likely to fail on two counts - lack of justification and failures of procedure - and it is known that vice-chairman Vic Brownett, in charge while chairman Mike Hor- ton is away in Florida, is working hard to persuade the rest of the committee to drop the disciplinary action against Barnett completely. He is also advocating that the players must, belatedly, be granted the right to defend themselves publicly against Jones`s claims that too few of them understood "the fundamentals re- quired for suc- cess". And the good news for Derbyshire? Dominic Cork, whose last first-team game was in April, is fit after groin surgery and will return in today`s AXA Life game against Glamorgan. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)