Allenby and Wallace turn match around
James Allenby and Mark Wallace scored centuries as Glamorgan staged a remarkable fightback in their County Championship match against Derbyshire at the County Ground
12-Jul-2011
James Allenby and Mark Wallace scored centuries as Glamorgan staged a remarkable fightback in their County Championship match against Derbyshire at the County Ground. They added 217 for the sixth wicket before James Harris and Will Owen shared a last-wicket stand of 121 - the second 10th-wicket century partnership in the match.
Allenby made 113, Wallace 104 and Harris and Owen both scored fifties as Glamorgan recovered from 69 for 5 to reach 445, a lead of 85. Glamorgan still had time to remove Wayne Madsen to leave Derbyshire's second innings on 15 for 1 at the close.
The home side would have expected to end the second day in command after they took three wickets for seven runs in five overs with Tony Palladino striking twice. Glamorgan needed 211 to avoid being asked to follow-on but that looked a long way off when half the team were back in the pavilion with the visitors 291 runs behind.
Gareth Rees was the first to go when he played across the line and was lbw to Palladino for 26 and although Ben Wright was dropped before he scored, he was caught behind in the next over when driving wildly at Jon Clare.
When Palladino cut one back to take the inside edge of Michael Powell's bat, Glamorgan were in desperate trouble but Allenby and Wallace responded to the crisis by taking the attack to the bowlers. Wallace pulled Greg Smith for his second six to reach fifty off 55 balls three overs before lunch and although Allenby needed 93 balls to get to his half-century, the all-rounder accelerated during an afternoon session that belonged to Glamorgan.
He pulled Mark Turner over long leg for six and Wallace cleared the ropes for a third time when Clare dropped short as Derbyshire struggled to stem the flow of runs. The 200-stand came up in only 42 overs and Allenby beat Wallace to his hundred when he cut Smith for his 17th four.
Wallace joined him on three figures in the next over but Smith finally broke through when he got one to turn and take the top of off-stump. Allenby followed three overs later when he got a leading edge to point but there was a sharp sting in the tail as Harris (60) and Owen (69) took Glamorgan to a fifth batting point.
Both players survived chances to launch an onslaught against the second new ball which took Owen to his maiden fifty, and Harris rounded off an astonishing day by trapping Madsen lbw for a duck.
