Cricket Round-up: Cork lifts Derbyshire

DERBYSHIRE secured the maximum 24 points before lunch on the penultimate day of their County Championship match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston yesterday, winning by an innings and 72 runs.

The result gave the players a day and a half off either side of the launch of the pyjama game today, time enough for Warwickshire to mull over the inadequacies of their batting. They were dismissed for 115, and only Jason Ratcliffe, whose 64 included 11 fours, delayed Derbyshire for long.

Dominic Cork, with 3 for 24, and the left-arm spinner Richard Sladdin, who took 3 for 36, were chiefly responsible for Warwickshire's demise. On a day when Ted Dexter, the chairman of the England selectors, promised a 'new-look side' to face Australia and said that 'none of the bowlers could write their names in', Cork's performance will have done his chances no harm.

It is early days, but Leicestershire and Gloucestershire are putting out distress signals. Both sides will do well to avoid successive defeats when they resume matches tomorrow, against Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire respectively.

In four Championship innings this summer, Leicestershire have not made more than 255. Yesterday, they mustered only 203, despite 93 from James Whitaker. Nottinghamshire, left to make 143 to win, were 46 for 1 at the close.

Gloucestershire's problems are similar, though they made a spirited response to a substantial first-innings deficit, reaching 281 for 7, a lead of 95. Tony Wright compiled 75 in four hours.