Wayne Madsen completed a courageous century and new signing Aneurin Donald added 97 as Derbyshire’s batters comfortably secured a Vitality County Championship draw against Yorkshire at Headingley.
Derbyshire started day four on 190 for three in their first-innings reply to Yorkshire’s 450 for five declared, needing to reach 301 to avoid the follow-on.
Given a day three abandonment following rain and with time running out, achieving that 301 target was always going to secure the draw. They did so inside the first 10 minutes of the afternoon and advanced to finish on 447 all out.
Madsen, 88 not out overnight, posted 104 off 226 balls. The 40-year-old was batting with a stitched up right hand following a nasty injury trying to take a slip catch during Friday’s first morning.
Donald, a winter arrival from Hampshire, narrowly missed out on what would have been his first first-class century since July 2019 as Derbyshire claimed 13 points.
Yorkshire, who were 59 for one in their second innings when bad light intervened at 4.40pm, took 16 points from their third draw added to a defeat.
Donald hit 10 fours in 118 balls, while fast bowler Zak Chappell crashed four sixes in a late 78 off 61 as the visitors pursued bonus points after lunch. Brooke Guest had fallen at the start of play for 75.
Madsen was one of three centurions in the fixture, joining England’s Harry Brook and Joe Root, who hit 126 not out and 119 for Yorkshire. Root also added three wickets with his off-spinners.
Had Yorkshire forced Derbyshire to follow-on, they still would have needed a special second-innings bowling performance to claim victory.
Taking 17 wickets in the day was by no means impossible, though unlikely on a pitch which was largely excellent for batting.
England fringe quick Matthew Fisher, the pick of Yorkshire’s bowlers with four for 96 from 27 overs, gave the hosts hope when he uprooted Guest’s off-stump with one that kept low in the day’s second over – 193 for four.
Madsen was particularly strong through the covers off the back foot en-route to his hundred off 224 balls, his 44th all-format century for the county.
He showed no signs of discomfort with regards to his hand injury.
It was a giveaway wicket when he top-edged a slog-sweep at Root to midwicket to hand Yorkshire their second wicket of the morning – 237-5 in the 78th over.
The new ball was taken shortly afterwards, but it didn’t work as the hosts would have hoped, despite two late-morning scalps for Jordan Thompson.
With Derbyshire 297 for seven at the break, they were safe.
Seamer Thompson trapped Anuj Dal lbw and had Alex Thomson caught at midwicket.
Derbyshire’s innings included three partnerships of substance.
Madsen and Guest shared 170 for the fourth wicket, ended early on the final day, before Donald added 54 for the sixth with Dal and an exhilarating 109 for the eighth with Chappell, who had some fun with the pressure off during the afternoon.
There was some afternoon confusion surrounding Donald’s score.
At one stage, he had been credited with four more runs having been caught at long-leg off a Thompson no ball. It initially looked as if umpire Hassan Adnan had signalled four as well as a no ball, but it was later corrected between the umpires and scorers.
It had been corrected before he edged Root behind on the cut, the same bowler ending the innings when he trapped Pat Brown lbw for a career best 15.
Chappell had smacked four leg-side sixes – three off Root – before gloving a Fisher short ball to gully.
The only thing which was left to achieve was for Derbyshire to improve an over-rate of minus three. They did so either side of tea through the spin of Thomson and Harry Came. Captain David Lloyd trapped Fin Bean lbw for 33.
Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur, said: “It’s a decent haul of points. I think we played our best cricket from the partnership between Wayne Madsen and Brooke Guest onwards. That almost got us into our season because we’ve been really hampered by the weather.
“We’ve bowled and created enough opportunities, like we did last week. The thing for us is just our catching. Again, we put down too many catches behind the stumps. We did that against Leicestershire as well, and it’s something we’re really going to have to work on.
“It’s a nasty cut which Wayne has got, but that’s typical of him. Wayne just gets it done – he’s an incredible professional and a very, very good player.
“The thing for me is that he walked out and did it under pressure. He played an innings which was very valuable for us.”
