Birch effort secures draw

Alex Wharf claimed three wickets, but it was not quite enough to get the victory

Derbyshire escaped with a draw on the final day of their rain-affected LV County Championship clash with Glamorgan at Cardiff.

Glamorgan had been in a strong position throughout but the 109 overs of the match lost to rain and bad light ultimately put paid to the home side's hopes of a second four-day win of the season.

Derbyshire, who took nine points, were indebted to Dan Birch for a rearguard effort which saw him score 43 and help his side to 184 for seven - a lead of 89 - when the players shook hands with seven overs remaining.

Play did not start on the final morning until 11.30 while the groundstaff mopped up the remnants of overnight rain, with eight overs lost.

That further hampered Glamorgan's hopes and in the end the Welsh county had to settle for 11 points.

The Derbyshire openers, Chris Rogers and Steve Stubbings, rode their luck against the new ball after resuming their second innings on four for nought.

It took until the 11th over for James Harris to break through and claim the wicket of Rogers, who chose to cut a ball that was too close to him and got a bottom edge onto his stumps.

Derbyshire got to lunch at 66 for one, but two overs after the interval Gareth Rees pulled off a brilliant reaction catch at short leg to remove Stubbings.

From 72 for two the visitors were soon 89 for four - still six runs in arrears - as Alex Wharf struck twice in the space of three overs.

He had John Sadler caught at second slip and followed that up with a slower ball which Dominic Telo drove straight to mid-off.

But just as a draw seemed certain, Glamorgan made further inroads. From 150 for four Derbyshire slipped to 163 for seven.

A useful 61-run partnership between Birch and Freddie Klokker was ended when Wharf had the Danish wicketkeeper caught at backward square for his third wicket.

And Glamorgan's chances of forcing a result got better when Jamie Dalrymple struck twice in two overs. First he trapped Birch leg before and followed that up by having Jonathan Clare caught behind.

But with time and overs running out Graham Wagg and Jake Needham survived until the players shook hands at 5.27pm.