Middlesex frustrated in quest for win at Derby

Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, OurCoop County Ground, Derby (day four)

Derbyshire 131: Sharma 4-36 & 111-3

Middlesex: First innings forfeited

Derbyshire 8 pts drew with Middlesex 11 pts

Match scorecard

Fast bowler Naavya Sharma gave another glimpse of his rich potential before Middlesex's hopes of conjuring victory from the rain affected Division Two match against Derbyshire faded away.

The 20-year-old took 4-36 to skittle the home side for 131 and Middlesex then forfeited their first innings in a bold bid to win a game in which two days had been lost to rain.

But Derbyshire showed greater resolve in the second innings to deny their promotion rivals and comfortably batted out for a draw, reaching 111-3, 242 ahead, when bad light ended play three overs after tea.

The way the ball moved around on the fourth morning showed why Middlesex thought they could force a victory with Derbyshire losing six wickets in eight overs.

Sharma demonstrated why he is so highly regarded in the game with the former England Under-19 quick striking in his first over of the morning when Caleb Jewell edged one that left him.

Three balls later, Brooke Guest was lbw to a ball that came back and Sharma had his third in four overs when he yorked Ben Aitchison who had made a century against Middlesex at Lord's in May.

Derbyshire's collapse continued in the next over with Anuj Dal caught behind off a ball from Helm that moved away late and Shoaib Bashir lbw offering no shot to an inswinger.

Will Rogers on his first-class debut averted the hat-trick and helped add 30 for the last wicket before Toby Roland-Jones had Nick Potts caught behind.

Roland-Jones quickly removed Harry Came when Derbyshire batted again but they needed to repeat the first innings carnage to have any chance of victory and the home side proved a lot more resilient the second time around.

Jewell and Matthew Montgomery took 15 overs out of the equation before Sharma got one to straighten to take the top of Jewell's off stump.

Montgomery did his best to foil Middlesex's ambitions by facing 62 balls until Roland-Jones moved one in to hit him in front.

But by then, the hosts were more than 200 ahead and Wayne Madsen and Andersson batted through to tea with Derbyshire 239 ahead.

Only three more overs were possible before the light deteriorated leaving both teams frustrated at the amount of time lost in a game they both needed to win to boost their hopes of going up.

Middlesex could at least take some consolation from claiming maximum bowling points to give them 11 in the match while Derbyshire take eight for the draw.

Both teams are next in action on Wednesday when Middlesex host Lancashire with Derbyshire facing rock bottom Gloucestershire at Bristol.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay.