Dawid Malan puts Yorkshire in the frame with maiden double hundred

They will dismiss the achievement purely on the grounds of the perceived quality of Yorkshire’s opposition.

But while it is true that Derbyshire hardly have a bowling attack to inspire terror, one weakened here by injury and unavailability, they have a 100 per cent record in the Bob Willis Trophy and are not to be sneezed at on current form.

In addition, one genuinely cannot remember anyone batting better than Malan did for long periods of this innings, with some of his off-driving, in particular, so glorious and priceless that it should rightly be on display in an art gallery.

“And there, hanging between the Picasso and the Rembrandt, is a picture of the Malan off-drive,” one can half-hear an art guide telling open-mouthed visitors.

“Just look at the batsman’s poise, his wondrous flair.”

Malan’s 219, the bulk of it amassed on the first day but only completed on the third morning due to bad weather, was his maiden hundred for the club on his third appearance since joining from Middlesex.

The last Yorkshire player to turn his maiden century for the county into a double was Jonny Bairstow in 2011; by quirk of fate, Bairstow was also the last Yorkshire player to score 219, back in 2015.

Malan’s score, which beat his previous first-class best of 199 against the same opponents at Derby last summer, underpinned a first innings total of 400-6, Yorkshire declaring after 90 minutes on claiming the fifth and final batting point.

They left Derbyshire 198-6 at stumps needing three more runs to avoid being asked to follow-on.

Malan, who today hopes to be named in England’s white-ball squad for the latest batch of games, last night reflected on his memorable performance.

“To score a double hundred is something that’s alluded me for quite a while, so to come and do that on my home debut for Yorkshire is a hell of a feeling,” he said.

“I was probably more fluent than I have been in four-day cricket, but things went my way in terms of hitting boundaries, and when I did hit it, the ball seemed to find the middle of the bat consistently.

“It’s disappointing that the weather has played such a big part, but, if we can get the last four wickets in the first 45 minutes or so, there’s no reason why we can’t go in and get another 100 runs quickly and then put them back in again.”

Malan had 153 to his name, and Jonny Tattersall 64, when Yorkshire began day three on 288-4, the fifth-wicket stand worth 182. Conditions were once more grey and gloomy to start with, although not so gloomy that the floodlights were needed.

When the partnership had reached 196, it beat Yorkshire’s fifth-wicket record against Derbyshire of 195 by Craig White and Michael Lumb at Derby in 2003.

When it had risen to 200, Tattersall was out, skewing a full toss from leg-spinner Matt Critchley to cover having added two to his overnight score.

Malan, who contributed almost twice as many runs to the stand as his colleague (130), then added 89 with Jordan Thompson, the burgeoning all-rounder.

Thompson pulled a six over backward square leg while Malan launched three leg-side maximums in quick succession, accelerating effortlessly towards the end of his innings.

Malan hit 4, 4, 6, 6 off successive balls from the occasional left-arm spinner Leus du Plooy, the first boundary in that sequence taking him to his double hundred.

The next delivery in the over saw Malan hole out to long-off; in total, he faced 244 balls and hit 28 fours and four sixes. Thompson contributed an unbeaten 36 from 52 deliveries.

Having needed 112 at the start of the day in 31 overs to claim maximum batting points before the 110-over cut-off mark, Yorkshire breezed it with 8.5 overs to spare.

Derbyshire enjoyed an opening stand of 58 between Billy Godleman and Tom Wood but then lost two wickets on that score. Wood pushed back a return catch to Thompson and Wayne Madsen went lbw to Steve Patterson.

Godleman (54) and de Plooy (30) added 68 before the visitors lost two more quick wickets, de Plooy edging Patterson to first slip and Godleman nibbling a catch behind off the same bowler.

Alex Hughes pulled Dominic Leech to mid-on (152-5) and Harvey Hosein was caught behind off Duanne Olivier (174-6), Hosein trudging off so slowly that day four had almost started before he reached the pavilion.

Yorkshire have played most of the cricket so far. Whether they can emerge victorious remains to be seen.

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