County Championship: Matthew Revis hits ton as Yorkshire set Derbyshire huge target

Matthew Revis also scored 104 not out against Gloucestershire earlier in the season

Yorkshire set Derbyshire a completely unrealistic target of 571 to win the County Championship match at Scarborough, which heads into its final day on Wednesday.

The home side have dominated this Division Two affair from very early on and day three was no different with Yorkshire, who led by 50 on first innings, advancing their second from 179-2 overnight to 520-9 declared just after tea.

Five players went beyond fifty, including all-rounder Matthew Revis as the only centurion. His 106 off 142 balls represented his second first-class century of the season and of his career.

Captain Shan Masood also completed a morning 86 against his former county, who closed the day on 65-1 from 26 overs of their notional chase.

After lunch, young Derbyshire batter Mitch Wagstaff, who was bowling leg-spin, claimed two wickets in his first over in first-class cricket. He is the first player in his county's history to achieve that feat in this format of the game.

For certainly the second half of the afternoon session, maybe even longer, Yorkshire's progress with the bat was nothing more than a training exercise.

Realistically, they had enough of a lead at lunch, when they were 324-5 and 374 ahead. Derbyshire's record chase in first-class cricket is 371 in a one-wicket win over a touring Australian side, including the likes of Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie, in 1997.

It was understandable that Yorkshire wanted a few more than that but a target of 450 was probably sufficient. Revis's progress towards a century was potentially a reason why they batted on until after tea.

Another likely reason would have been that they will have been targeting a number of overs to bowl rather than an amount of runs to defend.

They have a couple of seam bowlers with recent injury issues in Ben Coad and England quick Matthew Fisher, and managing their workloads will be a significant consideration. Incidentally, Fisher did not take the field for much of the evening.

Derbyshire rattled through their overs in a bid to improve their rate, with off-spinner Alex Thomson finishing with 5-190 from 38.5 overs.

That including a stunning one-handed return catch low to his right to dismiss Masood before lunch, leaving the hosts at 238-4. The left-hander had completed a fourth-wicket partnership of 107 with James Wharton (38).

After opener Finlay Bean made 64 late on day two, four others went beyond 50 with Revis and Masood joined by all-rounders George Hill and Jordan Thompson.

Wagstaff had Hill caught at slip for 79 and Dom Bess, for nought, caught at cover early in the afternoon as Yorkshire fell to 366-7 after 75 overs.

Revis and Thompson then shared 125, a Yorkshire eighth-wicket record in first-class matches between these two counties.

While 21-year-old Revis was measured, Thompson slog-swept or heaved four sixes over mid-wicket or long-on.

Revis reached tea on 98 not out and then, after reaching 106, was caught at long-on off Thomson to bring about the declaration.

Bess then claimed the only wicket so far in Derbyshire's second innings, getting opener Wagstaff lbw to leave the score at 24-1 in the 10th over - the former England spinner's first over of the match.

But Harry Came led visiting resistance through to the close with an unbeaten 33 and will hope to make Yorkshire regret batting on too long.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.