Some things never change. Homely Sophia Gardens has been transformed into the swish SWALEC Stadium but Robert Croft showed that he remains part of the fabric by becoming only the sixth bowler to take 900 wickets for Glamorgan before his figures took a battering in the face of a remarkable ninth wicket stand of 70 in only seven overs between Jonathan Clare and Charl Langeveldt.

Chris Rogers, captaining Derbyshire because Rikki Clarke has a bruised thumb, went past fifty for the fourth time in four championship matches but when he wafted airily at David Harrison and was caught behind for 69 they were close to collapse.

They were revived by Jonathan Clare, 21, a Burnley-born all-rounder, who went to the same school and played for the same club as James Anderson. He has just been given a two-year contract and responded by making a composed, unbeaten 70, his third half-century in as many innings. It gave Langeveldt the opportunity to launch a fearsome assault that brought him 40 off 19 balls with two sixes and four fours.

Until then, Glamorgan had bowled well with Harrison making an early breakthrough when Steve Stubbings played on off a bottom edge and James Harris, playing his first match of the season after recovering from an ankle injury, soon getting back among the wickets.

Harris, who last year became the youngest bowler to take 10 wickets in a championship match at the age of 17, had John Sadler and Dominic Telo caught in the slips and went on to finish with three for 40.

Croft, who is approaching his 38th birthday, was as tantalising as ever. He picked up his first wicket when Daniel Birch, apparently looking to demolish one of the new stands, lobbed the ball gently to gully instead.

Croft then had Graham Wagg and Langeveldt caught at short midwicket and trapped Jake Needham leg before but he could not disturb Clare, who showed great promise in making his 70 off 114 balls with nine fours. “He is a talented young cricketer and a potential star of the future,” John Morris, Derbyshire’s head of cricket, said.

Derbyshire: First Innings
*C J L Rogers c Wallace b Harrison 69
S D Stubbings b D S Harrison 16
J L Sadler c Croft b Harris 1
F D Telo c Powell b Harris 4
D J Birch c Wood b Croft 31
F A Klokker c Wallace b Harrison 3
J L Clare not out 70
G G Wagg c Dalrymple b Croft 32
J Needham lbw b Croft 1
C K Langeveldt c Powell b Croft 40
N D Doshi b Harris 1
Extras (lb 11, nb 10) 21
Total (74.2 overs) 289
Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-56, 3-66, 4-122, 5-126, 6-156, 7-206, 8-216, 9-286.
Bowling: Gillespie 9-2-26-0; Harrison 16-3-42-3; Harris 12.2-2-40-3; Croft 26-3-93-4; Wharf 11-1-77-0.
Glamorgan: First Innings
G P Rees not out 48
M J Wood lbw b Wagg 16
*D L Hemp not out 18
Extras (b 2, lb 1, nb 2) 5
Total (1 wkt, 19 overs) 87
M J Powell, J W M Dalrymple, M A Wallace, A G Wharf, R D B Croft, J N Gillespie, J A R Harris and D S Harrison to bat.
Fall of wicket: 1-39.
Bowling: Wagg 7-1-24-1; Langeveldt 6-1-30-0; Clare 3-0-16-0; Doshi 3-0-14-0.
Umpires: V A Holder and R K Illingworth.

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