Sun comes out for Yorkshire

Jacques Rudolph hit 81

Yorkshire kept alive their hopes of making the Friends Provident Trophy semi-finals with a 39-run victory in a match held up by the setting sun at Derby.

The floodlit game was stopped for 55 minutes after the Derbyshire batsmen complained they could not see the ball when the bowling was from the City End.

When play finally resumed at 8.30pm, the home side were left to score another 195 from 29 overs but they finished well short despite spirited batting from Ant Botha and Jamie Pipe.

It means Yorkshire can still finish in the top two of the North Conference if they win their last two matches although they will surely face a sterner test than the one posed by an injury-hit Derbyshire.

Skipper Simon Katich was the latest casualty with a groin injury keeping the Australian batsmen on the sidelines along with another six first-team players.

Although they did well to restrict the visitors to 253 for four after Jacques Rudolph and Craig White shared a century opening stand, an inexperienced batting line-up never looked like mounting a challenge.

Younus Khan continued his impressive season for Yorkshire against Derbyshire

Yorkshire threatened to set an even bigger target after Rudolph, who would have played for Derbyshire last season but for a shoulder injury, hit 81 including 12 fours off 91 balls.

White scored 43 in a stand of 122 from 25 overs but Yorkshire were unable to press on after Rudolph chopped Ian Hunter into his stumps in the 30th over.

Anthony McGrath mistimed a pull and was caught at mid-wicket for 32 and although Younus Khan's 45 came at a run a ball before he sliced to third man, only 25 runs came from the last five overs.

Yorkshire captain Darren Gough helped Derbyshire's cause with six wides in his opening two overs before he briefly left the field with a hamstring problem but the game was slipping away before the break for low sun.

Steve Stubbings was caught behind down the leg side, teenager Gary Ballance edged Jason Gillespie to first slip and Dan Birch fell driving after hitting Deon Kruis for four fours in an over.

Derbyshire were 39 for three when play was stopped and they quickly slipped to 47 for five chasing a revised target of 235 before Botha and Pipe restored some respectability.

Botha survived a referral to the third umpire on seven and when Gough returned to the attack, Pipe pulled his first ball out of the ground.

They added 78 with Pipe's 37 coming off 29 balls before he was taken low down at gully and although Botha completed his fifty, the game had been decided before Derbyshire were all out for 195.