Derbyshire v Worcestershire: Alex Hughes hits 50 on rain-hit second day at Derby

Alex Hughes struck only his fifth first-class 50 against Worcestershire

Derbyshire batsman Alex Hughes hit his first County Championship half-century of the season on another rain-affected day against Worcestershire.

Hughes made 53 in a sixth-wicket stand of 78 in 21 overs with Daryn Smit before becoming Nathan Lyon's maiden first-class victim for Worcestershire.

His dismissal, after Luis Reece had earlier gone for 54, ended the afternoon session before rain set in.

The two sides never returned, Derbyshire closing on 200-6.

Large pools of surface water on the outfield could not be dried, forcing an abandonment for the day just after 17:00 BST.

Three quarters of the day's play was lost, a total of only 23.1 overs being possible, during which opener Reece added just one run to his overnight score.

Lyon was making his first appearance in first-class cricket since winning his 67th Test cap for Australia in the Fourth Test against India in the Himalayan city of Dharamsala in late March.

Derbyshire's Alex Hughes told BBC Radio Derby:

"It's tough to just try and block Nathan Lyon because he's so good he will get you sooner or later, so you have to try and put a bit of pressure on him.

"I enjoy playing against spin and it's a good test against someone you're used to watching on the TV, especially in India, and do well against even though he's now got me out twice in two games.

"The action he gets on the ball is very different to the average spinner. He gets a lot of revs on it and a lot more bounce. He doesn't bowl many bad deliveries. If this pitch gets dry, he could be a tough prospect if we have to bat in the third innings."

Worcestershire captain Joe Leach told BBC Hereford & Worcester:

"I don't think we got our just desserts with the ball. I feel we bowled quite a bit better than 200-6 so hopefully that will change and we can knock them over really cheaply in the morning.

"It was good for Nathan to get his first wicket. He bowled very well again.

"It was a good reward for him to get off the mark. Hopefully he will have a bigger part to play in the rest of this game."