Derbyshire v Hampshire day 2

I left the County Ground at 2pm today. One of the things about living in Scotland is that it gives you a regular sighting of rain clouds and an awareness of how likely they are to kick around. The ones at Derby today looked to be set in for the day and so it transpired.

It was a shame, because the game is fascinatingly poised. with Derbyshire 105 behind and five wickets left with two days to play. Today's loss of two sessions doesn't affect the likelihood of a result after the thirteen wickets that fell yesterday. We will doubtless hope for dry weather tomorrow and a closing of the gap between the two sides totals, ideally with Derbyshire sneaking (or forging) ahead.

Tony Palladino batted beautifully this morning, unafraid to put bat to ball but playing "proper" cricket shots, not tail-end slogging. His pull/hooks for six were very well played and he looked composed and controlled at the crease. Indeed, had he gone through with his shot instead of checking it when he was dismissed, he could have gone close to a second ton of the season.

At the other end Usman Khawaja played sensibly and calmly. After a couple of early plays and misses he looked a player of class, driving straight and unafraid to loft the ball for a straight four and mid wicket six, a  sure sign of a player in confident mood. Conversely Dan Redfern never looked at ease and couldn't get his feet moving. It was no surprise when he edged to slip and departed just before lunch.

So how does it leave things? Well, as I write, pretty much as I suggested last night. Yorkshire have rolled over Essex and look to be the form team on the verge of promotion, while Kent have some work to do to stay involved at Cardiff, where the home side's 390 was not part of the script. Yorkshire should win from here, which means that Derbyshire will need to score 250 runs and do the same to take the title through having won more matches, or score 300 to win it outright.

Things can change, of course, but after two days we are in the frame and fighting hard. After being 50-3 overnight, I'd have happily taken 167-5 today. Full marks to Palladino and Khawaja, for a terrific effort. More of the same tomorrow sets Friday up for a real nail-biter...