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ScorecardWayne Madsen fought alone in making 141•Getty Images

This match will be most remembered for the extraordinary performance of Alex Lees, the 20-year-old opening batsman who is exciting Yorkshire as much as Joe Root did a couple of years ago. Yet what should not be underplayed is the herculean efforts of their bowlers, not all of them in the first flush of youth, to take 15 wickets in a day of 30-degree heat, which is why they were able to leave Queen’s Park with their lead in the Championship restored and a day off ahead to recover from their labours.Ryan Sidebottom, Liam Plunkett, Jack Brooks and Steve Patterson – a seam attack with an average of 30 – sent down 77.2 overs between them. Yet they were collectively so focussed on completing the job that the extra half-hour that loomed ominously as Derbyshire, following on, lost their seventh second-innings wicket with 40 minutes or so of scheduled time left would simply have been the cue to carry on running in.In the event, three wickets in the space of six deliveries in the 93rd and 94th overs of the day made it unnecessary. Sidebottom and Plunkett, 35 and 28 respectively, matched each other for primal roars as they shared the last pickings and Yorkshire were able to line up the celebration beers.The 24 points Yorkshire take from this week lifts them back above Sussex to the top of Division One and on the evidence so far there does not look a stronger candidate for the title, although Warwickshire’s improved form carries a degree of threat. The two meet at Headingley at the beginning of next month, following another break in the fixture list. It may be argued that Derbyshire, who have found the step up to Division One a little too much, are not much of an opponent, but they were not, in the end, a complete pushover.Other than Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who has missed this match with a hamstring injury, only Wayne Madsen, their 29-year-old South African captain, has looked consistently as if he should be facing Division One attacks and it came as no surprise that it was he who should stand head and shoulders above his woebegone crew to keep Yorkshire waiting.Wickets fell around him relentlessly as Derbyshire, their first innings ended on the stroke of lunch with a deficit of 382, offered a succession of poor shots and errant judgements, but Madsen batted superbly, giving a masterclass in how not to protect your wicket against the better balls while at the same time demonstrating that, with a good technique, self-belief and decisive shot selection, it is possible for even Derbyshire batsmen to score big runs. After four and a quarter hours he had made 141 and that his innings – and the match – should end with a weak return catch patted back to Plunkett did not do him justice.He would have been applauded off by the umpires, if etiquette had allowed it. They had noted Madsen’s honesty on Thursday evening, when he had walked during Derbyshire’s first innings, after Andrew Hodd, the Yorkshire wicketkeeper, claimed a catch off Steve Patterson’s bowling. Jeff Evans was unsure he could give it from the bowler’s end but Madsen signalled he had gloved it and headed for the pavilion. He had made only 17.Had he been of a different inclination, Derbyshire might not have been all out for 235, in which only Richard Johnson’s gritty 46 and a bold unbeaten 63 by Tom Poynton provided any substance. In the second innings, after Madsen, Poynton’s 29 was Derbyshire’s best score.An injury to Phil Jaques, who suffered a torn muscle in the field and will be out for four to five weeks, took a little shine off Yorkshire’s performance, although given the sadness in the background following the sudden death last weekend of Neil Gillespie, the father of their coach, an injury setback must have seemed like a minor matter.Gillespie, who missed the first two days, fulfilled his duties yesterday and was able to enjoy the victory. He is to return to Australia for the funeral in the next few days. Neil Gillespie, who had travelled to England last week with Jason’s mother, Vicki, suffered a heart attack in Leeds last weekend.

ScorecardA superb unbeaten 87 off 70 balls from Shivnarine Chanderpaul took Derbyshireto a thrilling seven-wicket victory in the Friends Life T20 match againstLancashire under the Derby floodlights. The West Indian shared a fourth-wicket stand of 58 off 33 balls with AlbieMorkel to take Derbyshire past Lancashire’s total of 151 with 3 balls tospare to put the Falcons top of the North Group with three wins.Tim Groenewald took four for 21, his best figures in the competition, andalthough Karl Brown scored 50 off 39 balls, a target of 152 was not enoughagainst Chanderpaul who equalled his highest T20 score.Groenewald put Lancashire under pressure from the start by having Stephen Moorecaught behind off the fourth ball and then removed Steven Croft for a duck off atop edged pull in his next over.When Ashwell Prince dragged a drive at Groenewald to midwicket, Lancashire were19 for three but former Derbyshire skipper Simon Katich responded by taking 20from a Mark Footitt over before he played across the line at Jon Clare and waslbw for 28.At 48 for 4, Derbyshire were on top but Brown and Smith put the Lightningback in the game with astute placement and big hitting with Brown pulling DavidWainwright for six and launching Footitt high over long-on for another maximum. The 50 stand came off 41 balls and there was a sense of relief among the homecrowd when Smith hoisted Dan Redfern into the hands of long off in the 17thover.Brown also fell to a catch in the deep in the next over from Durston which costonly three runs but Gareth Cross lifted Lancashire by twice hoisting Redfernonto the roof of a hospitality marquee as the visitors passed 150.Derbyshire made an even worse start with Chesney Hughes caught at slip off thefirst ball from Kabir Ali but Chanderpaul and Durston put the Falcons back ontrack with 50 from 35 balls before Glen Chapple bowled Durston for 20 off 12balls. But Chanderpaul, who had flicked Kabir over fine leg for six, was looking likeholding the key as Derbyshire reached the halfway point needing 80 from 60balls.By now, the rain was swirling across the County Ground, bringingDuckworth-Lewis into the equation, and Chanderpaul and Wayne Madsen battedsensibly by working the ball around for singles and two’s without putting theirwickets at risk.When the umpires took the players off in the 13th over, Derbyshire were fourruns ahead of the rate at 90 for two but when they came back 10 minutes later,Moore took a leaping catch at cover to remove Madsen for 23.With 52 needed off 30 balls, Lancashire were back in it but Chanderpaul sweptand pulled Stephen Parry for two fours and a six in the 16th over and finishedin style by driving Kabir for two fours as Derbyshire enjoyed their best everstart to a Twenty20 campaign.

He will abstain from discharging his duties as the BCCI president for now but N Srinivasan will continue to represent the Indian board at the ICC.After returning from the working committee meeting in Chennai, Mumbai Cricket Association’s acting president Ravi Savant confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Srinivasan emerged as the preferred choice when it came to representation at the game’s governing body.While Savant didn’t elaborate on the reasons, another member revealed ‘continuity’ as the main factor. “Since Srinivasan has been attending most of the ICC meetings for the last couple of years, it makes sense not to disturb the pattern,” he said, preferring anonymity.Representation at the ICC was one of the critical issues during behind-the-doors deals going into Sunday’s working committee that resulted in Srinivasan temporarily stepping aside as the BCCI president.The ICC’s annual conference is to be held in London from June 25 to 29, and it remains to be seen whether Srinivasan, often accused (or complimented) as the man who unofficially drives ICC’s decision-making, will enjoy the same clout among the group of ICC chief executives that he has enjoyed so far.Had it not been the for the arrests of three Rajasthan Royals players on May 16 for alleged spot-fixing, Srinivasan wouldn’t have had to convene two emergency working committee meetings in as many weeks. However, neither the arrested players nor Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, the Chennai Super Kings management member who has been arrested on the charge of betting on IPL games, were even discussed during the meeting. “Neither betting nor spot-fixing was mentioned even once during the meeting, just like resignation,” said another member.Meanwhile, one of the first tasks of Jagmohan Dalmiya, who has been put in charge of BCCI’s day-to-day activities till the internal probe is completed, will be to appoint a new secretary and a treasurer. Even though the BCCI working committee has requested Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke to withdraw their resignations, both Jagdale and Shirke have made up their mind not to backtrack on their decisions to step down as secretary and treasurer respectively. Besides, Dalmiya will also have to name Jagdale’s replacement in the three-member internal inquiry panel to probe into complaints against Super Kings, Meiyappan and Royals.Even though Dalmiya can choose candidates of his choice, the appointments will have to be ratified by the BCCI’s working committee. Similarly, all the decisions taken by him will have to be approved by the working committee, which is likely to be convened once every fortnight. “In all likelihood, Srinivasan will abstain from all the working committee meetings till his name is cleared in this episode,” a member said.The situation where the BCCI finds itself after ten days of back and forth with Srinivasan, offering suggestions and conditions on how to deal with the news of his son-in-law’s arrest, is exactly what had been offered to Srinivasan on the first day – that he ease himself off his official duties until the board’s own investigation into the IPL corruption scandal could be completed.Srinivasan though dug his heels, ensured that the escalating crisis took out his two most competent aides, forcing him to call the working committee together for the first time following Gurunath’s arrest. It meant that that the agenda of the meeting moved from the crisis in the BCCI to saving an individual.

Gurunath Meiyappan and Vindoo Dara Singh have been granted bail by a Mumbai court. Both had been remanded to judicial custody until June 14. One of the defence lawyers told he now expected both to be released by Tuesday afternoon.Gurunath and Vindoo were granted bail on a surety amount of Rs 25000, and on the condition that they don’t leave India and visit the crime branch office in Mumbai at least twice a week, according to a defence lawyer. The laws under which Gurunath was booked include Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, Sections 4 and 5 of the Gambling Act, and Sections 465, 466, 468, 471, 490, 420, 212, 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Offences under the Information Technology Act and the Gambling Act are bailable, the lawyer said.Gurunath, a top Chennai Super Kings official and son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan, was arrested by Mumbai Police on charges of cheating, forgery and fraud after being summoned to Mumbai for questioning over alleged betting and links to bookies. Police investigations suggested that Vindoo, an actor, and Gurunath were in frequent telephonic contact. Vindoo was also seen in the Super Kings box at IPL matches.Gurunath’s arrest heaped plenty of pressure on his father-in-law Srinivasan to step down as BCCI president, and at a working committee meeting on Sunday, Srinivasan said he would step aside until a commission appointed to look into the betting and spot-fixing charges in IPL 2013 completed its task.Super Kings also tried to distance itself from Gurunath, who was pretty much the face of the franchise till his arrest. Gurunath was suspended by the BCCI “from any involvement in the sport of cricket and in particular from any involvement with the Chennai Super Kings team” pending further investigations.

Goa cricketer Sagun Kamat was stripped of the Ranji Trophy captaincy and banned for two matches after the Goa cricket association found him guilty of assaulting a player during the Goa Premier League.Kamat, who captains Dempo Cricket Club allegedly assaulted Kashinath Chari, who represents Sunny Cricket Club on April 21.Kamat, who captained Goa in two games in the 2012-13 season, has played 46 first-class matches for Goa and scored 2106 runs at an average of 26.65. In the last season, he scored 380 first-class runs from 8 games at an average of 38 with one fifty and one century. He has also played 25 List-A matches and 23 Twenty20 matches for Goa.

Group A

In a one-sided match, Kerala were crushed under the weight of a dominant batting performance from Gujarat, led by Manprit Juneja, who scored a belligerent century, and Abdulahad Malik, to lose by 90 runs in Indore. The victory helped Gujarat qualify for the final of the tournament, to be played against Punjab, as they snatched the top spot via a better net run-rate than Kerala.Soon after being put in to bat, Gujarat were struggling at 31 for 3 in the fifth over, with the top three batsmen in their line-up having been dismissed. Juneja and Malik, then, shared an unbeaten 202-run partnership – the third-highest for any wicket in Twenty20s and the highest for the fourth wicket – in 94 balls to take them to a daunting 233 for 4. Juneja scored 108 off 50 deliveries, and Malik 84 off 46, both unbeaten. The two hit 25 fours and six sixes between them.In reply, Kerala lost wickets frequently. Except opener VA Jagadeesh (36), Sanju Samson (32) and Raiphi Gomez (26), none of the other batsmen put up much resistance. They were eventually bowled out for 143, with seamer Mehul Patel and offspinner Jesal Karia taking three wickets each.A quick half-century from Faiz Fazal helped Vidarbha beat Delhi by five wickets. Delhi, batting first, put up a strong 156 for 7, through a knock of 45 from Mohit Sharma and an unbeaten 39 from middle-order batsman Milind Kumar. Two significant partnerships, between Mohit and Jagrit Anand (worth 57 runs), and between Milind and Nitish Rana (40) helped Delhi get to the total, even though they kept losing wickets.Fazal set the tone in Vidarbha’s reply by dominating the opening stand of 31. He added 53 runs with Urvesh Patel, and when the stand was broken, Vidarbha were strong at 83 for 2. Three wickets fell for 31, but Shalabh Shrivastava, with a 14-ball 26, took them home in 19 overs.

Group B

A career-best, unbeaten 93 from Gurkeerat Singh helped Punjab beat Uttar Pradesh by 51 runs and gave them a berth in the final, to be played against Gujarat on Sunday. UP, after choosing to field, removed opener Mandeep Singh in the first over, and Ravi Inder Singh in the sixth over. But Gurkeerat struck useful stands with Mayank Sidhana, Chandan Madan and Amitoze Singh to steer his team to 161 for 5. His 58-ball knock consisted of eight fours and six sixes.UP’s innings never took off as seamer Sandeep Sharma dented the top order with quick wickets and spinner Rahul Sharma followed up by taking four wickets. Mohammad Kaif (46) and captain Piyush Chawla (29) provided resistance with a 46-run stand for the fifth wicket, but then they lost six wickets for 19 runs to be bowled out for 110.Half-centuries from Jyot Chhaya and Vishnu Solanki took Baroda to a tight five-wicket victory over Karnataka at the Holkar Stadium. In their chase of 168, Baroda’s top-order batsmen squandered starts, but at 75 for 4, Chhaya added 90 runs off 52 balls with Solanki to take them home in the penultimate ball of the innings.Karnataka’s innings revolved around a 34-ball 49 from opener Robin Uthappa, and contributions from Karun Nair (22), Manish Pandey (29), and K Gowtham (24). Spinners Bhargav Bhatt and Krunal Pandya took three wickets each.

East Zone group leaders Assam had a dismal match, losing by seven wickets to Bengal in Kolkata. Assam were dismissed for 93 after being asked to bat, with only four batsmen reaching a score in double figures.Fast bowler Veer Pratap Singh’s four-wicket effort was well supported by Shami Ahmed, the captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla and medium-pacer Sanjib Sanyal.Bengal had a brief stutter in their chase when Wriddhiman Saha and Vivek Singh were dismissed off consecutive balls. However, Assam’s bowlers simply did not have enough runs to defend. A fluent and unbeaten knock of 61 from Manoj Tiwary, which included eight fours and two sixes, hastened the finish, giving Bengal a comfortable win.In the second East Zone match in Kolkata, Odisha scored a 235-run win against Jharkhand, courtesy centuries by Paresh Patel and Arabind Singh and a seven-wicket haul by Suryakant Pradhan. Jharkhand won the toss and picked up an early wicket in the fifth over. But they had to wait for 214 more runs for the next strike, that of debutant Arabind, who smashed a 112-ball 132. Biplab Samantray then scored a 13-ball 37 to help Odisha to a tall total of 353.Left-arm seamer Pradhan triggered a Jharkhand collapse after picking up a wicket in his second over. He picked up a wicket in every over till his seventh as Jharkhand were left tottering on 43 for 8. Some late hitting by the ninth-wicket pair of Rahul Shukla (50 off 55 balls) and Jaskaran Singh delayed the inevitable and helped the team cross the 100-mark. They were eventually bowled out for 118 in the 29th over of the innings.

Brendon McCullum has strongly resisted claims that New Zealand have gone into the series against England with a mindset of trying to avoid defeat rather than aiming for victory. Their previous Test series had been a torrid affair in South Africa, where the top order understandably failed to cope with the No. 1 bowling attack in the world, but he insisted there was no hangover from that contest.The nature of the two Tests support McCullum’s stance; they set the pace in Dunedin, scoring at nearly four-an-over in their innings as they tried to make up for lost time and never stopped trying to dismiss England for a second time over the final two days. Their approach to this Test in Wellington was dictated by a poor first day, which left them trying to make up ground and they fought back on the second, but once England reached 465 they had to set their stall out to save the match.”If you’ve seen the way we’ve played in the last two Tests we’ve been reasonably proactive,” McCullum said. “We go into every game trying to win, it’s not about hanging on for a draw. We see it as a great opportunity to clinch a series win against England, which is something we’d all hold very fondly.”McCullum also defended the Test pitches and hopes the surface in Auckland is similar to those served up during the series so far. He is adamant that it has been the weather, rather than the nature of the 22 yards, which has led to two stalemates and set up a deciding match later in the week.It has been hard work for the bowlers on both sides during the series, but there has been success for some to enjoy notably Neil Wagner in Dunedin and Stuart Broad in Wellington. McCullum made a pointed reference to David Saker’s comments about the pitches not being ideal for Test cricket on Sunday, but is more than pleased with the conditions he has been given.”I’ve read and heard a lot about our pitches being too flat. It seems to be bowling coaches who have an issue with them. It’s always going to be the way,” he said. “If you look at the first Test we lost a whole day to rain and there would have been a result in that game and in this Test as well we’ve lost a day and a half to rain and it would have been interestingly poised. There would probably have been a result, too.”It’s not three or four-day Tests, it’s five-day grinding wickets were you have to work incredible hard for your fruits but I don’t see anything wrong with our wickets and they have certainly allowed both teams periods of dominance. For me, I’d like a wicket similar to these last two [in Auckland].”Alastair Cook maintained England’s view they would like more bounce from the pitches. “In an ideal world, we would,” he said. “It makes for slightly more exciting cricket certainly. Whichever wicket we get, we’ve got to try to find the best way of winning the game.”Even if there is more life on offer at Eden Park – which will use a drop-in surface and will host a Test just days after the latest rugby game at the ground – McCullum has seen enough of his batsmen that he is convinced they can adapt to the challenge.”If it is a bit bouncier than we’ve seen in this one, and especially in Dunedin, we’ll have to come up with a strategy to overcome it and I’m confident that the guys are treading in the right direction. We’ll see how we respond,” he said. “It’s been a good series for us so far, we are learning a bit about ourselves and were we are at. We have made some improvements from previous series but we know the third Test is what we will be decided on.”He also backed his decision to bowl by saying, as Tim Southee did during the match, that the bowlers did not make the most of conditions. “Certainly no regrets in this game,” he said. “If you do that you won’t be able to get out of bed each morning. It was about the best way to win this Test, which was to get some favourable conditions on day one. Even though the Test didn’t last five days we didn’t see the wicket breaking up. I don’t think it’s too bad a strategy for playing Test cricket in New Zealand.”McCullum suggested that he favours an unchanged team for the final Test – his pace bowlers have had a decent break after England enforced the follow-on followed by the rain – although he will wait to see how Doug Bracewell comes through his domestic one-day outing on Wednesday, where he will test his injured foot, before making a clearer plan over how he will attack the final Test.

ScorecardLions lost ground to their title rivals as they failed to force victory on the final day of a badly rain-affected match at the Wanderers where only 42 overs were possible on day four.Facing the follow-on with only two wickets left in their first innings, Titans were polished off in three overs after the start was delayed by 45 minutes. Only five runs were added and Imran Tahir took both wickets.And the run of wickets continued with Chris Morris bowling Pieter Malan in the third over of the follow-on. Jacques Rudolph and Henry Davids steadied with a partnership of 61 until lunch but that was the only stand of any substance.Rudolph was caught behind in the first over after the break; the first of Hardus Viljoen three victims. Morris then removed Davids for 41 on his way to 3 for 54 after which wickets fell at regular intervals.With four wickets to take in 25 overs the Lions were big favourites but wicketkeeper Mangaliso Mosehle ate up time with 30 not out and, when the seventh wicket went down, the umpires called play off for bad light.

India’s injury problems continue with the seamer Vinay Kumar being ruled out of the Twenty20s against England due to a strained right calf muscle. He has been replaced by fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun, his Karnataka team-mate.Vinay is the third India player to pull out of the two-match series, starting on Thursday, due to injury. The middle-order batsman Manoj Tiwary was withdrawn due to a side strain, before the seamer L Balaji was ruled unfit due to a stress injury to his right big toe. Vinay, who was brought in as Balaji’s replacement, will be out of action for two weeks.Mithun has played four Tests and five ODIs for India, his most recent appearance coming against West Indies in an ODI in Chennai late last year. He has taken eight wickets in four Ranji Trophy matches this season.