Glamorgan 308 for 6 (Bragg 129) v Derbyshire
Scorecard
Will Bragg recorded his fifth first-class hundred © Getty Images
Will Bragg bathed in the warmth of a career-best 129 in bitterly cold conditions as Glamorgan took the first-day honours at Derby. The 29-year-old celebrated his fifth first-class century and his first in 22 innings before Andy Carter struck twice with consecutive balls to leave Glamorgan on 308 for 6 at the close.
It was not a day for watching cricket with spectators huddled under several layers but the action was enthralling as Derbyshire maintained a consistently tight line on a good batting pitch.
Although Jacques Rudolph drove Tony Palladino for successive fours, the run rate did not get much above two an over in the morning, which underlined the accuracy of the bowling and the determination of the batsmen to make the most of winning the toss.
Rudolph and James Kettleborough had left the ball well but it was a misjudgement which broke the stand in the 21st over when Kettleborough offered no shot to Palladino and had his off stump knocked back. Palladino struck again with the third ball after lunch when he tempted Rudolph, who had shown impressive selectivity up to that point, to go for a drive and was caught behind for 35.
Another wicket at that stage might have altered the course of the day and Derbyshire should have claimed it when Cooke edged Luke Fletcher but Wes Durston diving across in front of first slip could not hang on.
It proved an expensive miss because Cooke, who was on 1 at the time, batted through the rest of the afternoon with Bragg who went to his second fifty of the season from 96 balls with seven fours.
Derbyshire used seven bowlers, including the legspin of Matt Critchley, but there was little assistance in the pitch and it took another lapse in concentration to bring the home side their next success. For the second time in the day Glamorgan lost a wicket in the first over of a session, with Cooke playing across the line at the fifth ball after tea, but Bragg went on to complete his first century in just under a year.
A full toss from Chesney Hughes was punched past mid-on for his 12th four and with Aneurin Donald playing some flourishing strokes, the pair added 74 before the second new ball gave Derbyshire some late reward.
Donald’s desire to take the attack to the bowlers proved his undoing when he chased a wide one from Carter but David Lloyd offered no shot to the next ball and was lbw. Carter’s hopes of marking his home debut with a hat-trick vanished when he speared the first ball of his next over down the leg side but Bragg fell five overs before the close when he walked across to be lbw to Durston after facing 217 balls.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo