County Championship: Anuj Dal takes five-for for Derbyshire at Scarborough

Anuj Dal's five-for was his second of the season for Derbyshire in the Championship

Derbyshire all-rounder Anuj Dal impressed with 5-72 during a hard-fought opening day of their County Championship clash with Yorkshire at Scarborough.

Dal's 20 overs of medium pace limited Yorkshire to 297 after they had been inserted in a low-key Division Two affair.

While Yorkshire are bottom of the table and definitely out of the promotion race, Derbyshire are just about still alive - but it would take something remarkable to secure a top-two finish considering they are 52 points adrift with four games remaining.

Dal's third career five-wicket haul - his second in the Championship this season - stood out during a day which saw a number of Yorkshire batters fail to make the most of encouraging starts on a pitch not as pacy as is usual at North Marine Road.

James Wharton top-scored with a middle order 58, but Fin Bean and Jonny Tattersall both fell in the 40s and Derbyshire then reached the close on 47-1, from 17 overs.

For large parts, the cricket meandered in front of a subdued crowd in the Scarborough sunshine, interspersed by regular wickets for 27-year-old Dal.

Yorkshire's openers Bean and Adam Lyth confidently shared 59 inside 20 overs but both left-handers were lbw stuck on the crease to Dal either side of lunch - Lyth for 32 and then Bean for 41.

When the latter fell six balls into the afternoon, Yorkshire were 98-3 after 30 overs with home captain, and last year's prolific Derbyshire overseas player, Shan Masood caught behind cutting at Sam Conners for eight just before lunch.

Derbyshire's fourth success came when the battle of the Georges was won by tall quick Scrimshaw, getting Hill feathering behind for 11 in the 41st over.

For Yorkshire, this final month was always going to be about signs of progress ahead of next year's promotion push after July's 48-point deduction sunk them to the bottom of Division Two.

For someone such as 22-year-old Wharton to contribute will encourage them significantly.

He has reached 50 in all formats this year - his breakthrough campaign - including a blistering T20 Blast 111 against Worcestershire in June.

The pace of this innings was vastly different, but there were signs of dominance as he and Jonathan Tattersall shared 71 for the fifth wicket through the afternoon.

Wharton hammered a pull through mid-wicket off Conners and shimmied down the pitch to work off-spinner Alex Thomson wide of mid-on for four more.

The latter took him to his second Championship fifty, off 102 balls. By that time, Yorkshire were closing in on 200. But when they reached that mark, Wharton fell as he edged a drive at Dal behind in the 61st.

That was the first of two identical dismissals in successive Dal overs and when Matthew Revis followed, Yorkshire were 204-6 in the 63rd over.

Dal's fifth wicket came in the first over of the evening as Tattersall fell caught behind driving for 45, leaving Yorkshire 213-7 in the 65th.

Mitch Wagstaff took a stunner of a gully catch head high to help Scrimshaw remove Dom Bess shortly afterwards before Jordan Thompson and Matthew Fisher both hit sixes off Thomson's spin to push Yorkshire up towards 300.

The hosts narrowly missed out on that, but Fisher hit six leg-side fours in eight balls he faced from Scrimshaw, including four in an over, en-route to 37 not out off 22 balls.

Thompson made 32 before miscueing a catch off Thomson and Scrimshaw then wrapped up the innings by getting Ben Coad caught behind.

Coad struck early in Derbyshire's reply, but the departure of Harry Came was due to Tattersall's brilliance behind the stumps as he completed a one-handed diving catch down leg, making it 0-1 in the third over.

Left-handed Wagstaff then confidently ensured there were no further dramas, closing with an unbeaten 32.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.