Wagstaff fifty helps Derbyshire to healthy first innings

Mitchell Wagstaff notched his highest first-class score in only his third game with an exciting 78 runs that included 12 fours and a six to help steer Derbyshire to 450-8 before declaring.

Wagstaff, the 20-year-old middle-order batter, struck 12 fours and a six in an entertaining knock and there was a wag in the tail from Zak Chappell as he notched an unbeaten 26 off 29 balls to allow captain Leus Du Plooy to declare after 127 overs.

That gave Glamorgan a big total to chase, but their progress was hindered by bad light once again and the day was finally called off at 5.51pm with openers Zain Ul-Hassan and Eddie Byrom both unbeaten on 15 and 5 respectively with the home reply standing 22 without loss from 11 overs.

Earlier, the morning after equaling the Derbyshire record of six successive fifties in a row in first-class cricket, Luis Reece became the first batter to be given out by a female umpire in 123 seasons of county cricket.

Having turned down a few earlier requests in the game, Sue Redfern finally lifted her finger in the 100th over of Derbyshire's first innings as she sent Reece back to the pavilion caught behind by Chris Cooke off James McIlroy's bowling.

Redfern made her own piece of history by becoming the first female umpire to stand in a men's first-class match in the final round of Division 2 fixtures at Sophia Gardens.

The 44-year-old ex-England star became the first full-time professional female umpire on the ECB list last year. She had previously made history by serving as the fourth umpire in a men's T20 international, also at Cardiff in 2021, and becoming the first woman to stand in a Vitality Blast match in June.

Reece was the second wicket to fall early on a day where the Glamorgan's bowlers hit back after conceding 308 runs on the first day and taking only two wickets. Timm van der Gugten gave the home side the perfect start by dismissing du Plooy for 22 with a catch behind by Cooke.

Matthew Lamb then took two boundaries off the next three balls before Reece carefully negotiated a maiden over against Jamie McIlroy in failing light. The umpires took the teams off after two overs and it didn't take long before Reece was dismissed without adding to his overnight score of 139.

Lamb and Anuj Dal followed in the space of 13 overs, reducing Derbyshire to 375 for 6 after starting the day on 308 for 2, but Wagstaff played his part in ensuring that the visitors were able to reach a healthy first-innings score before the declaration.