Day 1: Knight to the fore
By Neil Hallam at Derby
First day of four: Warwicks (253-8) lead Derbys (98) by 155 runs
NICK KNIGHT, with an impressive 109, and Dougie Brown, with five for 40, did their chances of inclusion in England's one-day squad this weekend a power of good as Warwickshire claimed a potentially decisive advantage of 155 runs during a sappy day on which 18 wickets fell to invoke an official report on the pitch.
It was, in fact, lavish swing rather than anything spiteful in the pitch which provided the test and Brown made expert use of conditions in a two-hour opening spell as Derbyshire, who had been put in, subsided for 98 in 31.5 overs of mostly flimsy batting.
Only Kim Barnett and Phil DeFreitas hinted at effective resistance as Graeme Welch and Ed Giddins followed Brown's example of a testing line and full length, a lesson lost on the Derbyshire attack while Knight and David Hemp shared a second-wicket stand of 130.
Hemp then speared a loose shot to deep point but Derbyshire's worst fears were forestalled when Brian Lara fell reaching for a good-length ball from DeFreitas.
Knight suffered few alarms in reaching 100 off 184 balls before DeFreitas found an edge.
Day 2: Derbys slide underlines the need for Slater return
By Neil Hallam at Derby
DERBYSHIRE, having capi-tulated twice in 88 overs to lose to Warwickshire by an innings and 61 runs in under two days, will be massively relieved that Michael Slater, their Australian Test opener, is likely to return this weekend.
Slater suffered a fracture along the palm of his left hand in going for a slip catch in a championship game against Nottinghamshire before he had picked up a bat in competition for Derbyshire and in his absence their worst fears about a lack of depth and experience in the county's batting are being fulfilled.
Warwickshire, who won the toss and opted to bowl, may have gained most help from the conditions but thereafter excuses for Derbyshire's flimsiness were limited, particularly in the case of those who perished to immoderate forcing strokes yesterday when discipline and circumspection were required to redeem a modicum of self-respect.
Slater is expected to play in the AXA game between these counties on Sunday but Derbyshire's captain Dominic Cork yesterday warned: ``It would be unfair to expect him to put everything right on his own. The rest of us have to up our standards as well because there is a lot of room for improvement.''
None of which should diminish respect for the professionalism with which Warwickshire despatched Derbyshire to claim their first championship win of the season as David Graveney, chairman of the England selectors, looked on.
Dougie Brown, with match figures of seven for 85, and Ed Giddins, with seven for 97, bowled with impressive bristle to take advantage of the pace and bounce in the pitch and of atmospheric conditions which promoted lavish swing.
Warwickshire's catching and out-cricket was efficient and Nick Knight, like Brown a candidate for England's limited-over squad, played the major innings of the game with an assertive 109 which owed a fair amount to Derbyshire's inability to sustain a full length.
The example of Knight's watchfulness and selectivity was not wasted on Graeme Welch and Tony Frost, who survived for 28 overs to take them on from an overnight score of 253 for eight to 332 for a first-innings lead of 234.
Derbyshire, however, were able to produce no such durability as they succumbed for 173, only Kim Barnett and Cork applying themelves for long.
Barnett, who is having a course of injections to delay surgery on a knee injury until the end of the season, eventually miscued a square drive and Cork stiffened the tail before Warwickshire completed their first defeat of Derbyshire by an innings since 1913.