Yorkshire v Derbyshire day 1

Yorkshire 280-4 (Malan 145*, Tattersall 64* Cohen 2-61)

v Derbyshire

With Derbyshire having put them in to bat, Yorkshire will certainly be the happier of the two sides tonight. They were 280-4 when bad light ended play for the day with twelve overs remaining, recovering from a shaky start and a mid-innings wobble that saw them 106-4 at one stage.

Dawid Malan made a fine century for them, playing some lovely shots through the covers. On another day, however, he could have seen a much earlier return to the pavilion, a couple of very close early  lbw shouts being turned down. He was well supported by Johnny Tattersall, who was on loan with us a few years back and has now carved a niche for himself in this Yorkshire side. They added an unbroken 174 for the fifth wicket in a fine effort. 

In the evening session they put our inexperienced attack to the sword and Malan looked a player of the highest class, better, to my eyes, than some currently holding down England places. 

Ben Aitchison was again the pick of the bowlers, keeping tight lines, a good length and getting plenty of movement, especially before lunch. He will bowl worse and pick up more than one wicket and pre-lunch, no one played him with confidence.

Michael Cohen bowled a poor first spell, getting pulled for two sixes, but came back well and either side of lunch was a real handful. He pitched it up more and got good swing, though again prone to deliveries that enlivened Harvey Hosein's day and later accelerated the scoring. 

The rest were a mixture. Dal started well and took the key wicket of Bairstow, remaining tidy throughout. Melton was less of a threat than at Leicester and leaked the most runs, while Hughes and Critchley were tidy, without looking especially threatening.

The fielding was good. Cohen and Godleman made a series of fine stops, while Wood also did well, sweeping on the boundary. Madsen held a very sharp catch at slip and they worked hard to maintain standards all day. 

The wicket seemed to ease and slow as the day went on, however and with rain forecast to take sizeable chunks from this game, as well as others around the country, a draw at this stage appears the likeliest result.

Which would suit Derbyshire just fine, of course...

Finally, a word about the Yorkshire stream, which was the best I have so far seen. The angle was good, the interchange of cameras professional and the experience generally excellent. 

It did go down after tea, however and I am not alone in thinking it was very short - sighted to publicise its limitation to members only, when cricket fans have been starved of the game all summer. 

The rationale was, I think, to incentivise members donating their subscription to the club, when a raft of social media comments suggest they have only managed to (again) alienate supporters. 

When the link was available all day anyway, it made absolutely no sense as a public relations exercise.