Chesney Hughes ton drags Derbyshire back
Chesney Hughes dragged Derbyshire back from the brink on another rollercoaster day in the County Championship match against Glamorgan at Derby
13-Jul-2011
Chesney Hughes dragged Derbyshire back from the brink on another rollercoaster day in the County Championship match against Glamorgan at Derby.
The Anguillan scored a career-best 167 to rescue the home side who were staring defeat in the face after England Lion James Harris had reduced them to 22 for four, still 63 runs behind. Harris took three for one in 14 balls but Hughes and Dan Redfern shared a stand of 154 in 40 overs to leave the game in the balance with Derbyshire 380 for eight at the close, a lead of 295.
Glamorgan had scented victory three overs into the third morning when Harris and Will Owen shattered the top order but the contest followed the same pattern as the first two days with a clatter of wickets followed by a recovery.
New Zealand opener Martin Guptill had played a match-winning innings at Cardiff only a couple of weeks ago so the visitors were delighted when Harris clung onto a firm return drive off the third ball of the day. Nightwatchman Tony Palladino did not hold up Glamorgan for long and bagged a pair when Owen thudded one into his pads. There was worse to come for Derbyshire who lost Wes Durston in the next over when he went only half forward to Harris and was leg before for two.
At that stage, there was a chance the game could have been over before lunch but, just as in the first innings, the batsmen prospered once the early moisture had gone out of the pitch. Redfern batted with class and composure on the first day and he again looked in control as he and Hughes steered Derbyshire through to lunch but Glamorgan should have broken through early in the afternoon session.
Ben Wright spilled two chances at second slip on the first day and he was guilty of another bad miss when he put down an edge by Hughes on 65 off Harris. Hughes also needed treatment when he was struck on the arm by former Derbyshire seamer Graham Wagg but Glamorgan were becoming desperate for a wicket when Redfern was needlessly run out for 63.
Greg Smith made a quick 38 before he was lbw to Dean Cosker but Hughes then dominated a stand with Luke Sutton, bringing up the sixth century partnership of the contest by pulling Wagg for his fourth six, before Wright finally hung on to an edged drive to give Harris a deserved fourth victim.
