Hughes' savage ton lifts Derbyshire

Derbyshire 302 for 4 (Hughes 171, Madsen 93) v Yorkshire
Scorecard

In contrasting styles Chesney Hughes and Wayne Madsen combined to give Derbyshire the best of the day at Headingley. Hughes dominated with power to make his highest first-class score, while Madsen manipulated the ball with the wrists of the international hockey player he is, and together they put on 258 for the second wicket.

This after Andrew Gale had won the toss and, to no one's great surprise, put Derbyshire in to bat on a damp morning and a greenish pitch. Early morning rain and bad light delayed the start of play by 45 minutes, and the prospects for batting looked grim.

There was optimism among the crowd as Yorkshire returned home after a thrilling victory over Durham, whereas Derbyshire had drawn their opening fixture against Warwickshire and then lost to Middlesex But Madsen and Hughes spent most of the morning and all of the afternoon causing consternation among the locals in the stands and, at times, those on the field.

Hughes is just 22 but played with the authority of a more experienced cricketer. When signed by Derbyshire he became the third player from Anguilla to enter county cricket following Cardigan Connor and Omari Banks. A powerfully built left hander, Hughes plays very straight and is an excellent judge of when to leave the ball. He looks sound temperamentally, too. Approaching his fifth first-class century, rather than shrink into his shell he bludgeoned two big sixes although the shot of the day was an extra cover drive to the boundary off the first ball after tea.

Hughes and Madsen came together in the seventh over after Tim Bresnan, Yorkshire's most threatening bowler on the day, found the edge of Billy Godleman's bat and Joe Root, celebrating his selection as captain of the England Lions, took a sharp catch to his right at third slip.

For the next 70 overs almost nothing went right for Yorkshire. A strong westerly wind got to work on the ground, and on the poor souls in the eastern stand, and the green tinge on the pitch perceptibly faded. The second time Bresnan induced an edge, when Hughes was on 70, Jonny Bairstow was unable to cling on to a difficult chance behind the stumps just a few days after spilling a chance against Durham.

When Madsen was eventually caught seven short of a century off Steven Patterson there was a sense of surprise in the crowd, as if something inevitable had just been prevented. A few minutes earlier a cheery soul in the eastern stand had observed to his friend, "They've over 250 and we haven't even see Chanderpaul yet". He needn't have worried; Chanderpaul fell to Adil Rashid and Adam Lyth's second catch of the day after just ten balls.

There was one further cheap wicket when Liam Plunkett dismissed Wes Durston, but at the close Hughes was still standing tall - in every sense.