Rain frustrates Yorkshire again to the benefit of rivals

Not only was Chesterfield’s picturesque Queen’s Park bathed in bright sunshine but the temperature had nudged through the 70 barrier for the first time in several weeks.

Perfect conditions, you would think, for cricket. Sadly, this being 2012 and one of the wettest summers in living memory, the pitch was unplayable with sections of the outfield more resembling a bog than a venue for county cricket.

No wonder, therefore, that umpires Peter Hartley and S Ravi, felt they had no option but to abandon play for a third consecutive day.

Certainly, Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon, had no complaint with a decision that left both sides with six points apiece from a fixture that, at the end of day one, had seemed beautifully poised with Derbyshire trailing by 84 runs with three wickets in hand.

He said: “It looked odd, didn’t it? We had the best weather for some time (on Saturday) but were still not able to play.

“The damage had been done in the previous two days. I went out there and it was still very wet.

“Water was coming up when you stepped on various parts of the outfield. We all gave it the best chance we could to get some cricket but it just didn’t happen.

“Given the situation in the game, with the best will in the world the most we could have got was one more (bonus) point.

“The risk of someone slipping was pretty high in the conditions we had so the umpires decided it was not worth that risk.”

Just 95 overs being possible against Derbyshire means Yorkshire have now lost 1,718 of the scheduled 3,840 overs – or nearly 45 per cent – in this summer’s County Championship. With each of their last three four-day games being badly affected by the wet weather, the White Rose county have been unable to build up any momentum in the promotion race.

And Hampshire took advantage of that inactivity yesterday by leapfrogging Yorkshire into second place with a dramatic two-run triumph over Essex at Chelmsford as Kent had to settle for a draw against Glamorgan.

Moxon said: “There is a lot of cricket still to be played. The league is going to be tight.

“I know we said this two games ago but all we can hope is that the weather does improve and we can get out on the pitch.

“Then, the teams that play the best over the next couple of months will get promotion. We are desperately hoping to get six full games in.

“I can’t remember a season have this length of time affected by the weather in the past.”

Ryan Sidebottom’s calf injury means he will miss Yorkshire’s next two Championship fixtures at Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.