Rain

BBC-2's programme tonight gave the corporation an opportunity to replay a lot of its archive footage of flood disasters. (There was also a welcome hearing of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant's "Raining in my Heart" sung by Buddy Holly, the B side of his last single release.)

Andrew Hignell, Glamorgan's archivist, was pictured in front of a soaked Sophia Gardens Swalec Stadium arena last September reporting that this was the first time that all four days of a championship match had been washed out in Cardiff.

Since then, of course, the county has invested in a hover-cover, the most sophisticated on a UK sports ground apparently. It had to be deployed yesterday, as rain interrupted the first day's play against Derbyshire. With all the testing which had no doubt been carried out after its installation, it was inevitable that the first "live" run of the system would produce a glitch. However, although the cover took about fifteen minutes longer than it should have to get off, it performed up to specification in getting on and therefore protecting the playing surface. As the chairman said, although there had been some delay, without the cover there would have been no further play that evening once the rain had started to fall. It is better to find out the problems now, early in the season, and correct them, rather than be embarrassed in July and the test match against the Australians.

Another reason to be cheerful today was the second total of over 400 this season. Glamorgan's batting was very much like the girl with the curl last year, and if we have now achieved some consistency, it will give the bowlers encouragement to attack. I see James Harris closed the day with two Derbyshire wickets.