Park on form for Derbyshire

Garry Park carried on his good form with an impressive unbeaten 70 for Derbyshire

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Garry Park continued his consistent run of form when his fifth LV= County Championship half-century of the season kept Derbyshire in their Division Two clash at Derby.

Responding to Leicestershire’s 412 all out, Park’s 70 not out guided the home side to 188 for two at the end of day two, 224 runs adrift.

Leicestershire would have expected to set a more demanding target when they began the second day on 341 for five but their hopes of building a big total were dealt an early blow.

James Taylor added only three to his overnight 86 before he tried to work Ian Hunter off his legs and was lbw in the third over of another hot and humid morning.

Hunter completed his five wicket haul when George Walker was trapped leg before by one that nipped back to finish with figures of 5-82 and when Iain O'Brien became Nantie Hayward's first Championship victim for Derbyshire, the visitors were in danger of missing out on maximum batting points.

Tom New made sure they reached 400 with a well-made 66, although it was former Derbyshire seamer AJ Harris who secured the fifth point when he edged Greg Smith to the fine-leg boundary.

Graham Wagg shattered his stumps in the next over and New was the last to go when he tried to carve Smith over slip only for Steve Stubbings to take a stunning one handed catch high above his head.

Derbyshire had taken the last five wickets for 63 runs but they still had a lot of batting to do to in conditions ideal for swing bowling.

O'Brien also found some lift to surprise Chris Rogers but the Australian opener pounced on anything overpitched to dominate an opening stand of 60 with Stubbings.

Rogers hit six fours but he chased a wide ball from Harry Gurney that also swung away and edged into the gloves of New, three short of a fifty.

Stubbings had dug in but had become almost strokeless and took 71 balls to reach double figures.

He scored only 18 between lunch and tea and Derbyshire added just 75 runs in 34 overs against accurate seam and spin bowling.

James Allenby found lavish swing and Walker got some turn with his slow left arm spin but it was Gurney who returned to finally end Stubbings' crawl in the third over after tea.

The opener had been in for two hours and 25 minutes for his 19, which came off 110 balls and did not contain a boundary, when he was lbw trying to turn Gurney off his pads.

Park took the attack to the bowlers, coming down the pitch to straight drive Walker for six and he also hit four fours in his fifty which came off 108 balls as he and teenager Dan Redfern added 85.