Good start crucial on final day if Yorkshire are to take advantage

Yorkshire must hope they do not miss one here after Derbyshire recovered from 42-4 to 
233-8, needing 38 more to avoid the follow-on.

Ryan Sidebottom was responsible for creating that window with some outstanding swing bowling from the Rugby Stand end.

The former England man captured 3-7 in 24 balls during the morning session and was well supported by wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd, who claimed three spectacular diving catches – and four catches in total – on his Yorkshire debut to send Derbyshire tumbling from an overnight 28-1.

Unfortunately for Yorkshire, Sidebottom lacked consistent support.

Tim Bresnan was unsuccessful on his return from England duty, Adil Rashid and Steve Patterson were not at their sparkling best, with only Azeem Rafiq also posing significant problems.

For much of the day it was Sidebottom or bust as Yorkshire were thwarted in their attempt to hasten the follow-on, although two late wickets put a gloss on their efforts and boosted their hopes of an innings win.

The home team go into the final day needing, almost certainly, to enforce that follow-on and then obviously to dismiss Derbyshire again.

It will not be easy, particularly with former Yorkshire spin bowler David Wainwright still unbeaten on 45 and doing to Yorkshire what he so often did on their behalf.

Conditions once again did Yorkshire no favours yesterday in terms of time lost, with 24 overs falling by the wayside, although they could hardly have been much better for bowling for most of the day.

Sidebottom was irresistible beneath the slate-grey skies after play began a quarter-of-an-hour late at 11.15, achieving some lovely shape into the right-handers and away from the southpaws.

In truth, neither side has collectively been at their best with the ball in this game.

Derbyshire, whose lofty status was hardly reflected in Yorkshire’s first innings 420, failed to pose a consistent danger, with Wes Durston’s career-best 5-34 on day two having been more the product of miscues and mayhem towards the end of the innings than off-spin wizardry.

Yorkshire have still had the better of the match – just as they had the better (although less glaringly) of the limited cricket when these sides met at Chesterfield last month. But whether they are good enough to force home the advantage remains to be seen; the window of opportunity prised open by Sidebottom and Hodd is not quite as wide as it should have been.

Given the dire weather forecasts for yesterday, which proved so far wide of the mark that they were the cricketing equivalent of a ball sprayed into the hands of second slip, it was remarkable that we had any action at all.

Many forecasts predicted wall-to-wall rain, but a sparse crowd was treated to 72 overs.

Derbyshire, who had lost their first wicket to the final ball of the previous night, faced a grim battle for survival in the challenging conditions. Endurance was especially tough in the face of Sidebottom’s evergreen skill.

The left-armer claimed his first wicket with the total on 33 in the 16th over, the fifth of the morning.

It was not his best ball as Usman Khawaja got a touch to one drifting down leg-side, Hodd pulling off a magnificent one-handed catch as he flew to his right.

Sidebottom struck again in his next over when Hodd dived to his left to remove Matt Lineker, who was undone by a beautiful ball that curled away.

When Sidebottom and Hodd then combined to shift Dan Redfern, the wicketkeeper again athletically springing to his left, the follow-on target seemed a long way away.

Bresnan was twice unlucky when Durston played him just wide of the slips – on one occasion apparently purposely in much the same way that a coach might give slip fielding practice before the start of play.

But Durston also played some handsome strokes, on-driving Patterson for four and lashing the same bowler to the cover boundary en route to fifty from 66 balls.

Durston found an adhesive ally in Ross Whiteley, who took a particular liking to Rashid after lunch.

The leg-spinner served up some loose material which the tall left-hander eagerly dismissed, while Durston cracked three fours in an over off the struggling Bresnan.

The fifth-wicket pair had added 112 in 31 overs when Rafiq slipped one through the defences of Durston, who scored 84 from 115 balls with 14 fours.

After 24 overs were lost to rain in mid-afternoon, Whiteley went on to 35 before edging Patterson to Hodd.

Wainwright and Tom Poynton piled on the frustration, adding 51 before Poynton went lbw to Rafiq.

Rashid trapped Tony Palladino lbw for a golden duck just before stumps to ensure a potentially nail-biting start to today’s proceedings.

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