Yorkshire v Derbyshire day 3

Yorkshire 297 and 520-9

Derbyshire 247 and 65-1

Derbyshire need 506 runs to win

I had an idea that it was going to be one of those days when I woke up this morning to find the following awaiting publication:

'Censorship on Peak blog is far to draconian and typifies the era we live in. While I enjoy it there is
no edge to it'. (sic)

Actually, I try to be fairly liberal in what I publish, but when there are comments that I feel are 'personal' or patently unfair towards someone at the cricket club, I reserve the right, as the bloke with his name and face on the blog, to withhold publication.

If ever the person who makes such comments wishes to publish their name and photo alongside it, I would be happy to consider the options. Yet that is as likely as Derbyshire scoring another 506 runs to beat Yorkshire tomorrow.

I confess to not seeing much of today's play. I had quite a few meetings and opted for the sunshine for a while in the late afternoon. With Yorkshire progressing serenely to 520-9 before declaring, it doesn't appear that I missed all that much. I did rewind the stream to catch the two wickets that Mitch Wagstaff took in his first over, the first Derbyshire player ever to do so, but the rest cannot have been much fun from a Derbyshire perspective. Those who were there, or who had more time than I, can fill in the blanks on this occasion.

Alex Thomson took 5-190, his second five-wicket haul of the summer in a marathon stint of 38.4 overs. If he is feeling tired tonight, my mind went back to 1965, when Derbyshire played Yorkshire on this ground. The three seamers were injured in the first session and Edwin Smith bowled 55 overs and took 4-117. He bowled 37 on the trot and went straight to the beer tent for a pint of shandy at the tea interval! He and Derek Morgan bowled 107 overs between them...

I was surprised that Yorkshire didn't declare earlier. With a lead of 400 they had put the game out of Derbyshire's reach and I couldn't understand why they opted for a lead of 570 before calling it a day. Granted, Revis made a ton, but I would have thought the objective was the win, first and foremost.

As it was, I saw the closing overs, when Came and Guest saw it through to a sunlit close. Yorkshire may win this game tomorrow, but the events of today suggested that Derbyshire should be able to hold out for the draw, if they bat with anything like their individual abilities. The home side will be able to set a close field all day, but I cannot help feeling they missed a trick in batting on for so long. Or maybe, like the Mission Impossible tapes in days of yore, the pitch self-destructs after three days..

It was a shame that Wagstaff was dismissed before the close. He has done well here, with a half century, his first two wickets and a blinding catch. Certainly he has given food for thought when contracts are being considered.

I hope to see a little bit more of the game tomorrow, but after a promising first day, Derbyshire have been firmly under the cosh ever since.

Here's hoping a little pride can be restored for the journey home tomorrow night.