Derbyshire edge towards the promised land It's a funny wicket here which can change but sometimes it doesn't when you expect it to. Over recent weeks Derbyshire's lead has been reduced from a commanding 32 points on June 9 to just one going into this final round of matches and Krikken's insomnia has increased as the chasing pack have closed in. "I'm not a good sleeper at the best of times," he said. I've been waking up at six o'clock trying to work things out in my head but I am looking forward to having a bit of sleep on Friday, hopefully having celebrated victory. Krikken tried to persuade his players that this was just another match but, with the Sky cameras present, it was obvious that this was the highest-pressure match at the old Racecourse since 1996. Then, Derbyshire's hopes of winning the County Championship for only the second time were ended by a defeat by Warwickshire in another televised contest. The prize this time may be more modest but Derbyshire have spent only one season in the top flight since two divisions were introduced in 2000 and they have mostly languished at the wrong end of the second tier since they were relegated. Tony Palladino settled any early nerves by exploiting a well-grassed and pacy pitch by taking three for nine in 26 balls in an excellent new-ball spell that took his season's wicket tally to 55. But batting became easier as the ball lost its hardness and Vince and Sean Ervine frustrated Derbyshire with a fifth-wicket stand of 136 in 32 overs that stretched into the afternoon. Vince, who had not passed 48 in a disappointing championship campaign before yesterday, was unsettled by an early lifter from Ross Whiteley but Derbyshire did not test him with another short-pitched delivery and that helped the England Lions batsman to play himself in. Vince straight- and off-drove elegantly in a 128-ball century that included 18 fours and Derbyshire were scratching around for a wicket when Ervine let them back into the match by needlessly trying to reverse-sweep slow left-armer David Wainwright. Vince's dismissal was almost as soft, a tame drive to short extra-cover, Chris Wood clipped Tim Groenewald to square leg and Wainwright will be on a hat-trick when he bowls his first ball in the second innings after David Griffiths was caught behind cutting and James Tomlinson went LBW propping forward to his first ball. Hampshire's last, slim mathematical hope of promotion may have disappeared when Yorkshire collected their first batting point at Chelmsford but they remained competitive throughout an intriguing day.